


I'll never say 'I love you'

by JustReadingMaybeWriting



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Big Boss Thorin, Drugs, Dwalin Is A Softie, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mobsters, My First Fanfic, Rating May Change, References to Drugs, Shameless Smut, Smut, Student Bilbo Baggins, Thorin is a Softie, Thorin's company are gangsters, Thorin's company are mobsters, Underground, Veterinary Clinic, be nice, mafia, student ori, vet Bilbo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:55:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 49,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22701331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustReadingMaybeWriting/pseuds/JustReadingMaybeWriting
Summary: Bilbo is a veterinary student who one night saves the life a handsome but wounded man. Bilbo should have called an ambulance. If he had called an ambulance, he wouldn't be in this weird mess. He certainly wouldn't be falling in love with the man he saved, who can't seem to leave him alone.My first fanfic in years!
Relationships: Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield, Dwalin/Ori (Tolkien), Ori/Dwalin
Comments: 188
Kudos: 457





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi  
> Sooooo it's been ages since I wrote anything. I just started writing and haven't stopped since. I forgot how much I enjoyed it. So, I'm looking for a Beta-reader.  
> Please, please, please give me feedback (good and bad). I feel like it's all a little bit of a mess right now.
> 
> Bilbo is a veterinary student with a double major in literature. If anything doesn't make sense let me know, but mostly just roll with it :p

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi  
> Sooooo it's been ages since I wrote anything. I just started writing and haven't stopped since. I forgot how much I enjoyed it. So, I'm looking for a Beta-reader.  
> Please, please, please give me feedback (good and bad). I feel like it's all a little bit of a mess right now.
> 
> Bilbo is a veterinary student with a double major in literature. If anything doesn't make sense let me know, but mostly just roll with it :p

Chapter 1

It was a normal evening. Nothing exciting, nothing weird, absolutely nothing. Yet Bilbo had a weird feeling. 

It had been raining since he had started his shift at the vet’s office. He came in twice a week to complete his degree as a vet. He had always loved animals, and this was the furthest Bilbo was able to travel away from home. Since the death of his parents, the only thing Bilbo wanted to do was leave Hobbiton.

And he did.

He was able to get housing from the university, but that was it. He still had to work to get things like food, books, and intuition. The debt he already had was so big he would probably have to eat instant noodles for the rest of his life.

Bilbo sighed as he closed the back door of the practice. He’d been doing this work for over 3 years now and he was pretty good at it. The owner, Beorn, trusted him with locking up and staying there on his own to help the evening patients. Because Beorn occupied the apartment above the practice, Bilbo could always call on him during an emergency. Tonight, Beorn had a date, but it was a slow evening, and nothing really happened. It was a really boring night.

So, when Bilbo closed the door and locked it, he didn’t really expect anything to happen.

It was dark, cold and raining on top of that.

‘Of course,’ Bilbo muttered to himself as he almost slipped on the three rain-slick stairs. ‘Not only did that stupid cat almost scratch my eyes out, now I also almost break my neck.’ He took a deep breath and opened his umbrella. ‘Just lovely.’ And he started the fifteen minute walk home. 

He shared an apartment with his best friend. Ori and he had met in the library at school. The two of them had been put together in the housing system. They became fast and good friends. 

Ori had two brothers, Dori and Nori. Dori was the proud owner of a tailor’s and Nori… well, Nori is… Nori. Bilbo didn’t really know what he did and he really didn’t want to know, but every time Bilbo saw him, Nori started flirting with him as if his life depended on it. Bilbo just played along with it, but both of them knew that nothing more would ever come of it. Truth be told, Bilbo saw those three men more as his family than the people he shares DNA with.

It was really pouring cats and dogs.

Bilbo was almost home. He couldn’t wait to get out of his wet shoes and socks and crawl into his favorite chair with a good book. However, fate had other plans for him. The alley he was in was a bit shady.

Bilbo slowed down the moment he heard someone cough. It would not be the first time some homeless guy would be getting high behind the dumpsters. Bilbo walked faster, as fast as he could to just not be noticed by the homeless guy. However, Bilbo saw a flash of a white shirt and could not resist taking a better look. Why would someone in such a clean white shirt be sitting on the filthy floor in a dodgy alley? Except, the shirt wasn’t just white and wet, it was also red.

‘Oh god,’ Bilbo muttered as he ran towards the man on the ground, his umbrella falling to the ground. ‘Sir! Hey, can you hear me?’ Bilbo looked at the wound on the man's stomach. It wasn’t deep, but the bleeding needed to be stopped. Fast. ‘Can you hear me?’ Bilbo took the man’s face in his hands to find any kind of reaction. He could feel his pulsepoint flutter against the light press of his fingers.

Still alive.

‘I’m calling an ambulance. You need a hospital.’ Bilbo took his phone out of his pocket, but his hand was covered by the man’s big paw. It was warm and wet and encased Bilbo’s hand with no problem. It was also covered in blood.

‘Nnn…no hos…pital,’ the man breathed.

‘But you need--’ Bilbo started. 

The man opened his eyes and Bilbo was met with the prettiest baby blues he’d ever seen. 

‘No hospital…’ 

Bilbo didn’t know what he was doing, but he knew he was going to regret it.

‘Okay, I need you to stand up, alright?’ Bilbo stated. It was incredibly difficult, but he finally got the man to stand. He was leaning very heavily against him and to make it even worse was the fact that the man was so much bigger than himself. It was a miracle that he got the man in the clinic and that they had not seen anyone else on the way there. They were lucky the clinic wasn’t that far away.

‘Okay, lay down.’ Bilbo pushed the man onto his table and started taking off his shirt. If Bilbo wasn’t in this position, he might have actually noticed how attractive the guy was. He looked strong, with long dark hair and a very manly beard.

The wound wasn’t deep and didn’t do that much damage. It looked like a deep cut, but Bilbo already saw a lot of his skin bruising. The man must have gotten a pretty bad beating. He hoped there was no internal bleeding. Bilbo softly pressed the man’s ribs. His skin was warm to the touch. He could feel the hard muscles and boy, the man was solid. The man groaned when Bilbo pressed a bit too hard. ‘Probably bruised,’ Bilbo muttered. ‘Hopefully not broken.’

Bilbo took a small moment for himself and took a deep breath. In and out, in and out. ‘Okay, Bilbo,’ he muttered to himself as he looked at the handsome man who was laying on his practice table. ‘He’s just a big dog. Yep, just a big big dog.’

Bilbo gave the man a shot of lidocaine to numb the pain in his ribs. While the drugs were kicking in, he started working on cleaning the wound. Bilbo was certain he did everything he could.

Internally, he was freaking out. What was he doing? Why wouldn’t he call an ambulance? The man wasn’t his problem. It was just some random guy he found in a dark alley. Even if he had called an ambulance, nothing would have happened. They would have picked him up and Bilbo would never hear anything about it again… ever. He was putting himself and the man in danger. He could lose his license before he actually got it and the man could get an infection and die. The risks were endless. So why? Bilbo should have called an ambulance.

The stitching and bandaging of the wound didn't take him as long as he thought it would, but he was ready to just pass out from exhaustion. The adrenaline was starting to ebb, and he had hardly slept the night before. He woke up at 4 in the morning to finish a paper, went to class, popped by Gandalf’s, and then did the nightshift at the clinic. Bilbo shuddered to think that he had been awake for nearly 23 hours.

Looking at the stranger on the table, Bilbo concluded that he’d done everything he could and there was nothing more for it. He sat down at his desk. ‘Just for a little bit,’ he muttered as he laid his head and arms on the desk and closed his eyes.  
XoXoX

It was five in the morning when Bilbo woke up. At first, he didn’t realize where he was. 

Then he remembered. Bilbo looked at his table, only to find it… empty?

Did he dream of helping a bleeding man? Was he really that tired? There was nothing in the surgery that would suggest him stitching someone up. There was no blood, no bloody shirt, there was nothing.

‘Did I really just dream this?’ Bilbo asked himself, looking around the room for just about any clue. Anything that could help him, even the smallest thing.

Bilbo stood there in the middle of his practice, looking around like a crazy person.

He took a few deep breaths.

‘It was just a dream,’ Bilbo told himself. ‘You’ve been studying hard on top of working at the clinic. This is the result of four hours of sleep a night. I just need a break.’ 

He started collecting his things. Bilbo tried not to freak out when he could not find his umbrella, knowing 100% that he actually brought it with him the day before.

‘Just go home, Bilbo. Go and sleep.’

And that was just what he did. The moment his head touched his pillow, he fell asleep. He couldn’t begin to realize the consequences of his actions.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!  
> So I was super nervous to post the first chapter and I really hoped you all liked it!  
> Since today is apparently 'International Fanworks Day', I decided to post the second chapter way earlier then I had planned.
> 
> Please let me know what you think (bad or good). I'm really curious and the kudos and the comments really made my day :D 
> 
> I'm still looking for a beta reader :)

Chapter 2

It took Bilbo weeks to forget about the weird dream or whatever it was that happened. Beorn cut Bilbo’s hours at the clinic because he had seen Bilbo leave that morning. 

Bilbo had only told Beorn he fell asleep in the clinic.

Beorn had cut Bilbo’s hours to one day a week. It would have no influence on his final score, so Bilbo was actually pretty happy. He would be able to sleep more than four hours a night.

He was walking back home from class. It was easier now, the one day extra he had really gave him the time to relax and breathe. He saw he had a few missed calls from Ori, but he was almost home. Ori could tell him whatever it was he had to tell him in person while he was making dinner out of whatever they had in the fridge.

‘Ori, I’m home,’ Bilbo yelled as he closed the front door to their apartment. ‘What do you want to…’ Bilbo was interrupted by Ori who was basically speed walking his way over to him in the landing.

‘We have company.’

‘What? Who?’

‘Well, I don’t think it was a dream?’

‘What? It wasn’t a dream?’ Bilbo didn’t understand. He took off his jacket and bag and then he understood. ‘Oh god, it wasn’t a dream!’ He trailed after Ori as he made his way to the living room.

There he was. Sitting on their couch in a crisp clean dark blue suit was the man Bilbo had helped. Now that he wasn’t soaking wet and Bilbo wasn’t busy stitching him up, he could really look at the man. Long, dark hair with soft streaks of grey. He had sharp features, and it was actually hard to guess how old he was. Thirty? Thirty-three? Who knew? Fact was: the guy was hot! Tall, dark and handsome. But his eyes. Bilbo had never seen eyes that blue.

He was accompanied by an intimidating bald man. He wasn’t wearing a suit like Tall, Dark and Handsome. He was dressed in all black with a leather jacket. He was actually also handsome, but not someone Bilbo would go for.

‘Hi?’ Bilbo started. He was unsure what to say or what to do. He just stood there.

Awkward…

‘Hello, you’re Bilbo Baggins.’ The man stood up, but didn’t extend his hand or anything. ‘My name is Thorin Durin.’ And he just stood there.

‘Alright.’ Ori broke the silence. ‘I’m going to make some tea. Big guy, you’re helping me. C’mon,’ Ori told the big bald guy as he motioned to follow him to the kitchen. Bald Guy glanced over at Thorin Durin who nodded slightly.

‘So, how is your wound healing up?’ Bilbo asked as he went to sit down in his favorite chair, opposite of Thorin who also sat back down.

‘Good, the family doctor said you actually did a pretty decent job.’ God, he was so hot. ‘He took out the stitches a few days ago.’

‘Minimal scarring?’ Bilbo asked. He had been curious about that part of what he did.

‘Yes, Óin said the same thing,’ Thorin answered.

‘Well, it was the first time I’ve ever had to do that on a person. Most of the time I only have to operate on cats and dogs.’ Bilbo smiled. ‘I also have the chance to do a check up when the animals wake up. I didn’t really know it was different with humans.’

Thorin squirmed in place. ‘I’m sorry for leaving. I woke up and saw you were asleep. I used your phone to call Dwalin--uh, the big guy in your kitchen.’

‘Well, you cleaned my office while I was asleep which is a bit weird.’ Bilbo gave him a polite smile, and felt his breath catch when Thorin mirrored it back. ‘I thought I had dreamed the whole thing. Ori didn’t believe me at first.’

‘I should also apologize for that then. It wasn’t my intention--’

Bilbo interrupted Thorin, who clearly wasn’t used to that. ‘It probably wasn’t your intention to get hurt and hide behind a dumpster in the rain. How… how did you end up there?’

Before Thorin could answer, Ori walked towards Bilbo. ‘This looks cosy. Bilbo, I need you in the kitchen.’ Dwalin walked out of the kitchen with a cup of tea and gave it to Thorin.

‘I’m sorry,’ the big guy said bluntly. ‘I broke a cup.’

‘Excuse me,’ Bilbo said and followed Ori into their kitchen. ‘Ori, what’s wrong?’

‘I have a bad feeling about this, Bil,’ Ori started and gave Bilbo his tea. ‘Why are they here? I tried asking Dwalin, but he wasn’t really the talking type of guy. I’m worried. We know nothing about these men and how did they know where you live? Bilbo, how did he know your name?’

Bilbo did not know what he could say. He hardly knew anything himself and how did he know where he lived? Bilbo went back to the living room, but didn’t sit down.

‘Not that I don’t appreciate the visit,’ Bilbo started. ‘But why are you here, Mr. Durin?’

Thorin stood up and looked at Bilbo. ‘I don’t like to be in debt with anyone. You helped me and I want to know how I can pay you back.’

‘Pay me back?’ Bilbo was confused and by the look of it, so was Ori.

‘Yes, name your price.’

And that’s the way the whole situation got incredibly uncomfortable.

‘Why do you think I have a price?’ Bilbo was starting to get a little defensive.

‘Everyone has a price.’ Thorin looked confused.

‘Mr. Durin, I helped you because I found you bleeding in an alley and you begged me not to call an ambulance. I really don’t want to ask you why I couldn’t call one and I also don’t want your money. I didn’t help you to get paid.’

Now Thorin seemed genuinely uncomfortable. ‘You don’t want or need money? It looks like you both could use it. What do you want then?’

‘Excuse me?!’ Ori snapped, but Bilbo interrupted him before he could say anything more. 

These men were both bigger and stronger than him and Ori combined.

‘I don’t need your money and what I want is for you to leave. This is already weird because I don’t know how you found where I live and then you start offering me money because I helped you?’ Bilbo went to the front door and opened it, shocked that someone would actually tell him they looked like they needed money. ‘Please leave,’ he told Thorin and Dwalin.

‘That’s it?’ Thorin asked as he walked towards Bilbo and the door. Oh, dear god, he was standing close to Bilbo. For God's sake, how could he smell that good?

‘That’s it,’ Bilbo answered, never breaking eye contact with the taller man. ‘I’m glad you're okay. Goodbye.’

Bilbo closed and locked the door before Thorin or Dwalin could say anything else. He just stood there for a moment.

‘Are we going to have to apply for new housing, Bilbo?’ Ori yelled. ‘I kinda like living here.’

XoXoX

In the end, they didn’t have to apply for new housing. They had given it a few days to see if Thorin Durin would come back, but nothing happened. Life returned to normal again, and both Bilbo and Ori hoped it would stay like that. 

Bilbo had gotten a lot more sleep and rest since he was only doing one shift a week at the clinic. His professors hadn’t made a problem of it, because they knew how much Bilbo had already worked there. The bookshop he also worked at had a few slow weeks, so Bilbo was able to work for school during his hours when everything was done.

‘So, you saw the new booklist?’ Ori asked, taking a sip of his tea. Both he and Bilbo were double majoring in literature. Ori’s first major was Art, and Bilbo’s Veterinarian Medicine. They met in literature and got a job at Gandalf’s, the bookstore owned by Bilbo’s godfather. 

‘We are lucky we work in a bookshop, but still. How can those books cost that much? It’s not like they’re made from gold.’

Bilbo smiled. ‘Be happy we can get half of our books from Gandalf’s. Still, all the other books are very expensive. I don’t know how I’m going to pay for it.’

‘Me neither. I can’t ask Dori for more money. I know he wants to take care of me, being my big brother and all, but it just feels… wrong to get money I haven’t worked for.’ Ori sighed.   
‘Imagine if he knew how big the debt is I already have. He would have a heart attack.’

‘But then you could sell his shop.’ Bilbo grinned cheekily.

‘Oh yes, that's just about enough to bail Nori out of jail for one time and a cup of tea,’ Ori sassed. ‘I’m applying for another loan. You?’

‘Yeah.’ Bilbo nodded and opened the door to the bookshop on campus, letting Ori by him. ‘I don’t have a choice. We are so lucky the school is paying for the housing.’

‘Hey Bilbo, how are you?’ the pretty blond boy behind the till asked.

‘Hey Legolas. Well, I’m here for the new books and to ask if you can put them on my ‘To-Pay-Later’-list. Only the ones that aren’t ticked off. I can get them at Gandalf’s.’

‘Same thing for me, Legolas,’ Ori said as they both gave their booklists to the tall blond.

‘Yeah, I saw the prices for the books. Even my father asked if the books are made of rare paper or something.’ Legolas smiled as he worked on his computer. ‘You wanna know how much you owe the school?’

Bilbo sighed. ‘Sure, knowing will take seven years off my life, but hey, why not?’

Legolas smiled apologetically. He came from a pretty rich family, but tried not to be too dependent on his family. That’s why he worked in the school bookshop.

‘Uh, Bilbo,’ Legolas started, ‘you already paid for everything.’

‘Excuse me?’

‘Yes, everything was paid for a few days ago. Your book debt is paid off. There is even extra on your account to pay off future books.’

Ori stepped past a frozen Bilbo. ‘Legolas, check my account, please.’

The blonde did as he was asked. ‘Yours are paid off too. Same thing as Bilbo’s account. What do you want to do with the extra credit? I can send it to your Paypal.’

Ori couldn’t breathe. ‘Bilbo...’

‘Oh god, Ori.’ Bilbo took Ori outside for fresh air. ‘Calm down, Ori. This is a good thing.’ Such a big lie, Bilbo thought to himself. ‘This gives us some freedom.’

‘Bilbo,’ Ori started between breaths, ‘this… is not… a… good thing!’ 

It took Ori a minute to calm down and catch his breath. ‘Ori, we need to call the financial department.’

‘Why? You don’t think this is the only thing that’s paid off?’

‘I just want to check.’ Bilbo took a deep breath. ‘I don’t like this feeling.’

They went home after Bilbo went back into the store and requested Legolas text him when the books came in. Ori started cooking while Bilbo called the financial department of the university.

‘Hey, this is Bilbo Baggins. I was wondering if you could check my account and tell me how much I owe the university,’ Bilbo started, sitting down in his favorite chair.

‘Student number?’ the woman requested dryly. It didn’t even sound like a question.

‘0789157.’

‘Major?’

‘Veterinary Medicine, with an extra major in Literature.’

‘Okay, Mr. Baggins,’ the woman mumbled. ‘You owe the university… nothing. Let me check something for you.’

Bilbo stopped breathing or listening. He had no debt. How was this possible?

‘Well?’ Ori asked. Setting the table for their dinner. He was just as anxious as Bilbo, but he didn’t know what Bilbo just learned.

‘I… I have no debt.’

‘Mr. Baggins?’ the woman from the financial department asked. ‘Are you still there?’

‘Yes.’

‘We received an email about your financial situation and that of your roommate, Ori Rison.   
The email came from a company who wanted to sponsor your schooling. They paid for everything and paid for the next two years.’ Bilbo stopped listening. School was paid off for the next two years. How was this possible? Ori softly slapped Bilbo’s shoulder. ‘You need to listen to this,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry, miss, but could you repeat that, please?’

‘The company wanted you to have a full scholarship because they saw potential in both of you. They paid for everything and for the next two years. Now, if everything goes correctly, you both will graduate next year, so they wanted the rest of your scholarship money to be refunded to your bank accounts.’

‘Is there a possibility to refuse the scholarship?’ Bilbo asked without thinking.

‘I’m sorry, sir,’ the woman said. ‘I don’t understand. You don’t want the scholarship?’

‘No, I don’t want it.’

‘Mr. Baggins, I don’t need to know why, but you cannot refuse the scholarship. The school already accepted it on your behalf, because of the debt you had.’

‘But I…’

‘Mr. Baggins, I’ve been doing this job for over thirty years and let me be honest: with your amount of debt and that of your roommate, you will be paying off this debt for so long, you will have trouble getting loans for a car or even a house. This scholarship is a great gift and you and Mr. Rison should use it to the fullest. This is not something that happens every day. So be thankful it did. Have a nice day, Mr. Baggins.’ And she hung up.

‘Bilbo, do you think it is a possibility that this was done by your handsome friend?’ Ori asked. There was a tension in the room that could be cut with a knife.

‘I am very sure it has something to do with Thorin Durin.’ Bilbo got angry. Very angry. ‘He said he called the bald guy with my phone.’ Bilbo looked into the calling history of his phone, searching for a number he didn’t recognize.

‘You’re going to call him?’ Ori asked, still a bit in shock.

‘Yes.’ Bilbo had found the number and had already dialed it.

‘Hello?’ a gruff voice answered.

‘Give the phone to Mr. Durin!’ Bilbo snapped.

‘Oh god, Bilbo,’ Ori pleaded softly. ‘At least be nice.’ He backed off when Bilbo basically killed him with the anger in his eyes.

‘Mr. Durin is currently in a meeting. You can come by his office or call him later,’ Dwalin answered just as rudely as Bilbo.

‘Where? Where is his office?’


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo here is chapter 3.  
> But I do need to say something first. Someone pointed out to me that the plot of this story was basically the same of a fanfic called 'The Storm WIll Wash My Sins Away' by silverneko9lives0. I looked it up and the plot is the same. It was never my intention to steal someone's story. I had a writersblock for four days because I felt so guilty and I don't even know if the story itself is the same because I haven't read that story and I'm a bit afraid to do so.  
> I just want to keep writing, because I like doing it, but I also don't want to unintentionally steal someone's story idea.  
> SO I was hoping someone can tell me that it doesn't look like it is going into the same direction as silverneko9lives0's story. It would mean a lot to me if someone could do that.

Chapter 3

Dwalin had given him the address and it took Bilbo about an hour to get there. Ori had yelled that he was crazy and that he should just accept the money. That it was a luxury and a blessing. But that was not the point for Bilbo.

The address turned out to be a nightclub. Bilbo got into the club trough the backdoor. The booze supplier was there and Bilbo just sneaked in. He just randomly asked someone where he could find Thorin and he actually found his office pretty fast. The door was open, and Bilbo could see Thorin at his desk, calling. Bilbo felt the anger in his stomach and he angerly stomped into Thorin’s office.

‘I told you I didn’t want your money!’

‘I’m going to call you back, Balin. Hello Bilbo.’ Thorin said smoothly and put the phone down. ‘Dwalin told me I could expect you.’

‘Why?’ Bilbo almost yelled. ‘Why would you pay for everything?’

‘You helped me.’ Thorin answered as if it was nothing. ‘I wanted to do something to thank you and since you didn’t accept anything for your personal life, I wanted to help you pay of your school debt.’

‘And Ori’s?’

‘Dwalin broke a cup.’ Thorin came up to Bilbo. ‘I had to do something.’ as if the cup had been 400 years old and extremely rare.

‘Do you not understand something as basic as helping someone in need. I didn’t stitch you up for the money and the cup was from Ikea. You could have sent us a new one.’

‘I don’t go to Ikea very often.’ Thorin smiled. ‘But you also didn’t call an ambulance.’

‘Okay…?’ Bilbo started to get a bit unsure. Why didn’t he leave this alone. He could have easily accepted the money and get on with his life. He had no more debt.

‘You took a very big risk with not calling an ambulance. You could lose your license. If anything happened to me, you would have been appointed as the responsible one. You could have gone to prison for that.’ He came closer to Bilbo. There was almost no space left between them. Bilbo had to look up to keep eye contact. He refused to move, even if he was getting a bit nervous. ‘We wouldn’t want that to happen, right?’

‘That is still no excuse to pay of two students debs off.’

‘Then give it back.’

‘The university won’t give it back.’

‘Yes, I donated a small sum to the school for the library.’ Thorin smiled. Bilbo felt himself blush a bit. Damn, he was so handsome, and he smelled incredible. ‘I told them if they didn’t accept the money, they wouldn’t receive the donation.’

‘You donated for the library?’ Bilbo was a bit surprised. The library was old and in dire need of renovations and new books. Most of the school’s donations went to sports and science. Literature was often ignored.

‘Yes, you and Ori both double major in literature, right?’

Bilbo nodded.

‘I thought you might like it.’

‘Why do you care about what I like?’

‘I think you are… different.’

‘Different?’ 

‘I don’t know a lot of people who would kick me out of their home.’

‘Well, you offended me.’

‘Not on purpose.’

Now, there was absolutely no space between the two of them. Was this some way of intimidation? Oh god, Bilbo could feel Thorin’s breath on his face. He smelled like peppermint thee. Could Thorin get anymore attractive? Ori would slap him if he saw how defenseless Bilbo was getting and that was the thought that snapped him out of it.

‘Well, you wouldn’t have offended us if you didn’t think people had to be bought because they did a nice gesture.’ Bilbo snapped. ‘Going behind my back and pay for my school, while I made it clear I didn’t want your money! I helped you, because I wanted to. And I knew the risks! I knew I could lose my license if something went wrong and I still did it because I wanted to help! I didn’t want your money. The only thing you had to do was say: thank you!’ Bilbo yelled the last part. Thorin looked surprised. Not a lot of people had to nerve to yell at him or call him out on things. 

‘I did it from the goodness of my heart! If you think you can only thank people with your money, then you must be living a very sad and solitary life.’ Bilbo said. Not mad or yelling, but Thorin detected something in his voice. What was it? Was is… pity? ‘And I actually feel sorry for you if you truly believe that’s the only way.’ And with that Bilbo left.

Thorin was surprised. Even more than before. He liked the spirit Bilbo had. Basically, breaking into the club and his office just to give him a piece of his mind.

Was he living a solitary life? He had his sister and nephews. His brother was still traveling. Most of the people who worked for him were his family. He paid them, but that was just because they also worked for him. Did they only tolerate Thorin because he was their boss? He felt anger rise up in him. How did he accept being yelled at by a struggling university student? No one yelled at him! He’s the boss! 

‘Dwalin!’ Thorin yelled. ‘How the hell did that kid get into the club!’


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!  
> I'm so thankful for your comments and kudos! It's such a great motivator!  
> I hope you enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think
> 
> I'm still looking for a beta reader! I desperately need one :D

Chapter 4

Ori and Bilbo had both accepted whatever had happened. With their debts paid and extra spending money, they were able to actually enjoy their university years. The two had gone for drinks with friends, were able to afford take-out, and they bought a few new clothes. They weren’t throwing around their money, but it was easier now to just do things. 

Bilbo and Ori had spoken about maybe thanking Thorin for what he did, but Bilbo just wanted to leave it alone. He didn’t want to apologize for the way he had yelled at the older man and then thank him for the money. Call him childish, he just didn’t want to do it.

It also had been weeks, but Bilbo kept thinking about it. Especially when he was in his office at the clinic.

‘Okay, Rosie,’ Bilbo told the owner of the cat he had just examined and handed her a little bottle with pills. ‘Just give Mario one of these every evening with a little bit of his normal food for a week and he should feel a lot better. If not, feel free to call us.’

‘Thank you, Bilbo.’ Rosie smiled and picked up her cat. The sweet old lady put Mario back in his basket together with the pills. ‘Are you getting enough sleep, sweetie? You look a bit tired.’

‘I’m fine, Rosie.’ Bilbo smiled. ‘You don’t need to worry about me.’

Rosie laughed. ‘Oh, sweetie, I worry about everyone. You, Beorn, my neighbors, the birds, the trees. You name it, I worry! But you are far too skinny. You need to eat more.’

Rosie and her orange cat Mario had been one of Bilbo’s very first patients. She reminded him a lot of his grandmother and was always asking how he was and if he was taking care of himself.

‘I’m fine, Rosie. Can you send in the next person? Thank you.’ Bilbo started to clean up the exam table, with his back towards the door.

‘Hello, doctor,’ a deep voice said.

Bilbo turned around. ‘Hey, what can I do for you?’ Bilbo had instant chills. The man was tall and slim. His hair was slicked back and black, and he had very sharp cheekbones. He was wearing a very expensive suit and coat. It was his green eyes that unsettled Bilbo the most. The man had no animal with him.

‘Doctor Bilbo Baggins?’

‘Yes.’

‘I did not expect you to be… this young,’ the man said as he started to look around Bilbo’s exam room.

‘I’m still a student. I’m here as an intern so I can finish my degree.’

Smaug smiled and mumbled, ‘So, he got a kid to patch him up.’

‘I’m sorry?’ Bilbo was very uncomfortable. ‘Who are you?’

The man turned around and looked at Bilbo. ‘My name is Mr. Smaug.’

‘What can I help you with?’

‘You know Thorin Durin, don’t you?’ 

Bilbo froze. Had Thorin told him? Anyone?

‘I don’t know what you are talking about,’ he quickly lied. 

Before Bilbo could realize it, he was pressed against his desk because Smaug stood so closely to him. He hadn’t minded it when Thorin had done that when Bilbo yelled at him. But right now, he just wanted to disappear.

‘No?’ Smaug touched Bilbo’s face. ‘You didn’t stitch his wounds or anything?’

Bilbo slapped his hand away. ‘I’m a veterinarian! I only help animals, sir. Now I must kindly ask you to leave.’ He didn’t ask kindly and Smaug didn’t leave.

‘Well, you helped that dog, Thorin Durin, didn’t you? Stitched him up right there on that table.’ It wasn’t a question, but it also wasn’t a statement. That man couldn’t possibly know where he took care of Thorin. Unless he was there to pick up Thorin that night, but then he wouldn’t be asking all these questions. He didn’t really like Thorin, but still, Bilbo felt that even if he told Smaug he had helped Thorin, Bilbo would be the one to pay for it. And not in a good way. He didn’t feel the need to protect Thorin, but the man had basically begged him not to call an ambulance. Was this why? 

Bilbo had grown up around a lot of old people who loved playing poker. It was a mandatory skill to learn how to poker for the children in his family. So, Bilbo recognized a bluff when he saw one. The only thing he could do was bluff back. He would not show his true cards, even if he had already lost. Bluff.

‘If you are looking for a doctor who can help you with stitches or so I advise you to go to the hospital. If that is all, please leave.’ Bilbo tried to move away. What the hell was happening? What kind of weird mess was this? His heart was pounding so hard he was afraid Smaug would hear it.

‘You helped Thorin fucking Durin! You should have let him die in that alley!’ Smaug had grabbed Bilbo’s wrist and pulled him close. 

Bilbo was scared. What the hell was happening?

Oh god, Smaug’s grip on Bilbo’s wrist really hurt.

‘You think his wounds were deep enough to kill him?’ Bilbo dared to speak. Smaug put a lot more pressure on Bilbo’s wrist as he tried to pull away. His eyes were getting teary. ‘Let me go.’

‘His wounds weren’t deep enough?’ Smaug sneered, putting even more pressure on Bilbo’s wrist. Bilbo had tears streaming down his cheeks.

‘Aahh… Please, let me go.’ Bilbo was struggling more than he ever had in his life.

‘Tell me about his wounds!’ Smaug twisted Bilbo’s wrist making him cry out in pain.

It was a knock on the door that made Smaug release his wrist. It was Beorn. 

‘Bilbo, I’m going home. I’m closing up for tonight. You can go home.’ 

Bilbo slipped past Smaug and ran towards the door, quickly drying his tears. Yanking the door open, Bilbo said, ‘You can close up, Beorn. I’m going home.’ Bilbo looked Beorn in his face. ‘That man needs to leave.’ Bilbo didn’t look back as he left the exam room. 

He held his wrist in front of his chest. It hurt so badly.

It wasn’t Beorn's first time he had to kick people out of the clinic. They were in a safe neighborhood, but every year he had to throw at least two people out. It helped that he was big and strong. His nickname in uni hadn’t been Big Bear for nothing.

Bilbo hid in the kitchen for a while. He heard Beorn raise his voice a little and the slamming of the front door. A minute or so later, Beorn came into the kitchen.

‘Show me your wrist.’

‘It’s nothing, Beorn. I’ll be fine.’ Bilbo got up to grab his bag and coat

‘Bullshit.’ Beorn sat down, extending his hand to Bilbo so he could take a look at his wrist. Bilbo didn’t want to. He just wanted to go home, take a hot bath, and sleep. But Bilbo knew the fastest way to be able to do that was by giving Beorn his wrist, so he did.

Beorn was a great guy, a bit of a loner, but very sweet. He had finished medical school and had a degree in medicine, but after working in a deprived hospital for four years, he’d had it with humans. He got into veterinary school, became a strong believer in veganism and had been working with animals ever since. He dated from time to time, but mostly lived a solitary life with his animals. He wasn’t lonely; it was just the way he liked it.

He examined Bilbo’s wrist. Putting pressure on different places and watching the smaller man's reaction. ‘It’s just bruised, so you're lucky, but it will hurt for a small while,’ Beorn said. ‘When you get home, I want you to ice it and rest.’ 

Beorn wrapped Bilbo’s wrist for support and drove him home. Bilbo, of course, had refused, saying he could get home on his own and that it was ridiculous since Beorn lived above the practice. Beorn still insisted. He liked the smaller man. He had spunk and a true love for animals. Bilbo was his favorite intern, even if he wasn’t allowed to have a favorite.

XoXoX

Ori was eating his breakfast when he noticed Bilbo’s bandaged wrist and demanded to know what happened. Bilbo told him a short version and after a heated discussion, Ori dropped it. He wanted Bilbo to report this to the police, but Bilbo flat out refused. How did he explain this to the officer? A tall and scary man grabbed my wrist really hard and was asking questions about the other man I illegally patched up because he didn’t want me to call an ambulance while he was bleeding in the street?

‘Ori, there is nothing I can do,’ Bilbo said, while he was cleaning the breakfast table. ‘I did something that I wasn’t allowed to do. If I go to the police, I will lose my license. That’s the end of the story.’

Ori didn’t really want to respond. In a way, he was grateful for what Bilbo did; saving Thorin’s life had resulted in their lives becoming much easier. Ori also got something extra out of it, but Bilbo didn’t need to know that right now.

He tried to change the subject. ‘So, what are your plans for today?’ 

‘I’m working at Gandalf’s till six. Wanna eat Chinese tonight?’

‘Sure, so you’ll be home by seven?’

Bilbo nodded and started to get ready for work. It was when he took his keys from the stand near the front door that he noticed a small parcel.

‘Ori, there’s a parcel over here.’

‘Oh, yeah. It was delivered yesterday while you were at Beorn’s.’

Bilbo didn’t have the time to open it now, but his curiosity got the best of him. He placed the parcel in his bag, yelled his goodbye to Ori and went to work. 

Gandalf, the owner of the bookstore, was Bilbo’s godfather. He was a bit of a weirdo, but that was okay. He had a strange habit of disappearing at the most inopportune moments. He’d had the bookstore for ages and most of the time one of Gandalf’s friends, Radagast, would take care of the store if Gandalf went on one of his adventures. Since Bilbo came to town Gandalf had put his godson in charge of the shop. Radagast only worked two days a week, when Bilbo or Ori were not available due to school.

Radagast was also a bit of a weird guy, but had a pure heart.

Today Bilbo would work alone. He had a suspicion it would be a slow day and, aside from some standard work, Bilbo was right. He was sitting at the register with a cup of tea, a book, and a very nice muffin from the bakery next door. It was about then that Bilbo remembered the parcel.

It was a simple, brown parcel. It was light. Did he order something and forget about it? Bilbo just decided to open it. After all that had happened over the last few months, one would think that Bilbo would be more careful with things like this. After all, curiosity killed the cat.

It was a cup.

It was from Ikea.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!  
> So sorry! It's been a while. I started a new job at a bar to pay for my school and I was just so tired. On top of that I got sick purely from exhaustion, so all I wanted to do was sleep and watch Netflix. There is also a lot happening in the world right now and I just want to say: I hope everyone is safe and healthy.
> 
> It's a short chapter, but longer chapters are coming.  
> Thank you for the kind comments. It really surprised me how much they motivated me to keep writing.

Chapter 5

Bilbo didn’t use the cups for days. Ori had called him crazy, but understood why he didn’t do it. It just stood there on his desk. In his wallet he had stored the small card that had come with the cup. It was a phone number. Just that, nothing more. Bilbo didn’t need to be a genius to figure out it was Thorin’s number.

‘Just call him!’ Ori said. ‘It’s been days. What’s the worst thing that could happen?’

‘He could hear me!’ Bilbo shot back. That stupid Ikea cup was driving him crazy. ‘Why? Why would I call him? And why would you suddenly be on his team. A week ago you would have told me where ho could have put that cup.’

Ori shrugged his shoulders. ‘Things change. He went to Ikea for you.’

‘I’m pretty sure he just send that big baboon who actually broke the cup.’ Bilbo muttered.

‘Or maybe he didn’t…’ Ori answered silently. 

‘And how would you know that?’ Bilbo mocked Ori as he was making a new cup of thee. Not in the dark blue cup. Bilbo didn’t want to drink from that cup. ‘You went with him to Ikea?’

‘Noooo…’ Ori mocked back and stuck his tongue out to Bilbo. ‘But maybe Thorin is actually a good guy and he was in a bad situation. He paid off all of our debt, Bilbo, and I didn’t even do anything. You saved his life. He just has a weird way of saying ‘thank you’.’

Bilbo didn’t want to respond, so he changed the subject. ‘What do you want to eat tonight?’

‘Very grown up, Bo.’ Ori laughed. ‘Are you working today?

‘Yes, Gandalfs till six and I have to go to Beorns at eight and I was thinking pasta Carbonaro?’ Ori just nodded.

XoXoX

Today had been one of the most boring day’s Bilbo had ever had in a bookshop. He had closed up early and the market was empty as well, so he got his groceries in about fifteen minutes. Bilbo was pretty happy, he would be home by five o’clock. He could make diner, guilt Ori into doing the dishes, take a hot bath with a good book and go to bed early. Oh god, that sounds so wonderful.

Bilbo really did look forward to his night. Tomorrow night he had to work at the clinic and the scary man hadn’t returned, so that was also great. His wrist still hurt. He had gone to the pharmacist for some ointment and new bandages. He was told to apply it two times a day, but he mostly wore the bandage to hide the awful bruising. He didn’t want people to ask questions.

Bilbo started to search for his keys, but that was a bit unnecessary since the frontdoor was opened for him. Just not by the person he expected. 

‘Hello, Dwalin.’

‘…’ There came no sound out of Dwalins throat and Bilbo had never seen that look on such a strong man before.

‘Bilbo.’ And he left.

Bilbo quickly walked into the living room. He just saw a hint of Ori disappearing into his room wearing nothing but his bathrobe. ‘Ori!’

Ori, of course, did not answer.

‘Ori! Ori! Ori!’

Ori peeped his head out of his bedroom. ‘Oh, hi Bilbo. You’re home early. What’s for diner?’

‘You slept with Dwalin?’ 

‘I want to lie, but I have no good excuse.’ Ori was at least telling the truth.

‘Oh god, that’s how you knew Thorin went to Ikea for the cup and not Dwalin!’ Bilbo yelled. ‘How did this even happen?’

‘I went to get a cup of tea and he got in the line behind me.’ Ori whispered, following Bilbo to the kitchen. ‘We started talking, went for a bite to eat and one thing led to another and… and… and you weren’t supposed to find out! You were coming home at seven! Dwalin was supposed to be gone by then!’ 

‘Oh, I’m sorry.’ Bilbo almost threw the eggs into the pot. ‘Next time you are having sex with the friend of the guy I illegally saved, just text me! Then, maybe, it won’t be awkward. How long has this been going on?’

‘About five weeks…’

‘Is that why you kept asking me every day what time I would be home?’

Ori nodded. ‘Are you mad?’

‘Ori, I’m not mad at you.’ Bilbo sighed and sat down next to his friend. ‘I’m just… I’m surprised. I didn’t expect this to happen. I mean, you kept talking so negative about the whole situation.’

‘Bilbo, you saved someone and that gave me the change to finish university without any debt. I don’t have to go back to live with Dori after graduation. I don’t have to work the rest of my life to pay back my education. You are right! At first it felt wrong that Thorin had paid for everything and that it may have been fishy, but Thorin could be a nice guy. Dwalin is actually a big softie and the biggest teddy bear I have ever met. Maybe we were just a bit quick to judge. I certainly was!’

Ori smiled with a soft blush. ‘Dwalin is actually very nice.’

‘What about the cup?’

‘That was really Thorin’s idea.’ Ori assured him. ‘Dwalin only drove him there. Apparently, it took him about two hours to find the right cup and he still bought the wrong one.’

Bilbo smiled, but snapped himself out of the thought.

‘I don’t know, Ori. I mean…’ Bilbo sighed. ‘I don’t know!’ it was not often Bilbo was at a loss for words. ‘So…what is it exactly between you two?’

‘It’s casual.’ Ori answered. ‘It started with sex, but in the last week we went out for dinner and we talked. It was nice.’

‘So you think it can…grow?’

Ori shrugged. Not ready to answer that question.

After that, they didn’t really talk anymore. They cooked, ate, cleaned up and did not talk. They tried to, but Ori didn’t really want to talk about it. They did everything in silence.

It was when Bilbo got ready to go to the clinic, that Ori spoke again. He was sitting on the sofa, drawing.

‘I do like him.’ He said softly.

The only thing Bilbo could answer was: ‘That’s okay.’


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello!  
> Here is the newest chapter! Thank you for all the comments and the kudos. I'm still really surprised at how happy it makes me to read what you think :D
> 
> I'm also very happy to announce that I finally have an amazing beta reader!  
> So a very special thank you to eroticnarwhal. I'm really grateful you want to beta read for me and I can't thank you enough.

**Chapter 6**

Bilbo could have killed him. He _really_ could have killed him. It had been hours since he had the last patient. But right now, in his office, stood Thorin fucking Durin, with Dwalin who was holding a cloth against his shoulder. Blood was staining the cloth.

‘Oh god,’ Bilbo muttered when he saw them.

‘Bilbo,’ Dwalin rumbled as a hello, clearly in pain. He was leaning pretty badly against Thorin.

 _‘Oh my god!’_ Bilbo started to freak out. Thank god Beorn was on another date! ‘Thorin! Do you not understand that there are also doctors for _people_ you can go to? I am an _animal doctor!_ Go bother someone else!’

‘Bilbo, please,’ Thorin said. He was clearly--already--very sorry. ‘I wouldn’t ask this if we had another option.’ Those blue eyes. Bilbo would melt if he looked at him any longer.

‘You need to take him to a real doctor, Thorin.’

‘I can’t…’

‘Why? Why can’t you go to a doctor?’ Bilbo interrupted him. ‘Why could I not call an ambulance?’

‘Bilbo, I promise you,’ Thorin pleaded, ‘I will answer all your questions, but I need you to help Dwalin.’

‘Thorin, I…’

‘Please, Bilbo, I’m asking you this from the goodness of your heart.’

Bilbo didn’t know what to say.

‘Put him on the table and take off his shirt.’ Bilbo moved to lock the front door so no one could enter unexpectedly.

Dwalin had been hit by a bullet in the shoulder. Bilbo sedated him completely so he could take out the bullet in peace and silence.

‘I’m going to need you to help me, okay.’ It wasn’t a question. Thorin nodded and did everything Bilbo asked of him.

It actually went pretty well. They got the bullet out with ease, which surprised Bilbo. They mostly worked in silence, except for when Bilbo told Thorin to do something.

‘So, is now the time?’ Bilbo asked as he grabbed his needle and thread. He had told Thorin he didn’t need him anymore. The older man sat in Bilbo’s desk chair. His long, dark hair was pulled back in a messy bun, sleeves rolled up with tiny specks of blood on the white fabric. ‘Can I ask questions now?’

‘What if I say ‘no’?’ Thorin asked.

‘Then I hope you can sew,’ Bilbo answered simply and offered Thorin the needle and thread.

‘You couldn’t call an ambulance because they would automatically call the police.’ Thorin sighed. ‘They would have asked questions and I wouldn’t be able to answer them without them investigating the clubs.’

‘So what you do is not legal?’

Thorin didn’t answer

‘Alright, looks like I’m done then.’ The needle was basically pricked into Dwalin like he was a pincushion.

‘The clubs are legal,’ Thorin said after Bilbo had completely stopped. ‘There was someone who wanted to deal drugs in the clubs, but I refused. He got angry, got me beaten up and today he sent someone to put that bullet you pulled out of Dwalin in me. He kept yelling something about ‘deep enough’.’

If Bilbo wasn’t listening before, he definitely was now! ‘Not deep enough? You know who it was?’ He finished stitching Dwalin’s wound and started to clean up.

‘Yes, his name is Smaegol, an addict. He works for a serpent of a man.’

Bilbo was uncomfortable. He hadn’t thought about the bruises covering his wrist until now. He was surprised Thorin hadn’t seen it, but then again, they were kinda busy. Bilbo was getting a bit nervous. He knew something wasn’t right with Thorin’s business, but with Smaug he had felt instant unease. He needed to tell Thorin.

‘Smaug,’ he whispered. ‘He came to see me here. He was asking about you and if I knew you.’

Bilbo immediately saw how defensive Thorin got. ‘He came here?’ Bilbo had missed the part where Thorin had stood up and approached him. They were standing just as close as Smaug had done to Bilbo, but this time Bilbo didn’t want to scream for help.

‘Did he touch you?’

Bilbo was confused. ‘What?’

‘Did. He. Touch. You?’

The fire in Thorin’s eyes really got Bilbo hot. He was wondering. What would happen if he would stand on the tips of his toes and--Nope, no, no nope nope nope! _You can’t wonder about that,_ Bilbo thought to himself.

‘My wrist.’

Thorin instantly noticed the bruises that stuck out of Bilbo’s sleeve. He had been so preoccupied with Dwalin that he hadn’t noticed the bruises. They weren’t hard to miss. The mottled green and brown were stark against the pale skin of his wrist. He softly grabbed Bilbo’s hurt wrist and inspected it. His fingers softly traced the healing bruises. It felt so… intimate.

‘I’m sorry he did that to you.’

Bilbo realized he was wrong about Thorin, just like he was probably wrong about Dwalin.

‘It’s okay…’

‘No, it isn’t. I thought I had wiped my trail. Smaug must have had me followed.’ Thorin was still holding Bilbo’s wrist, but was moving to hold his hand. ‘I’m really sorry.’

‘Did you wipe your trail tonight?’ Whatever that meant.

‘Yes, my men were already on it when I left to bring Dwalin here.’ Thorin smiled. ‘You learn quickly.’

‘I’m sorry I yelled at you,’ Bilbo muttered. He felt flustered at the warm pressure of Thorin’s grip. ‘I should have just been grateful for what you did.’

Thorin sighed. ‘I should have respected your choice. I realized how insensitive it was of me to pay for your schooling, and that of Ori. It… it is the way I was raised. You pay people to thank them. _You_ were right. I’m sorry.’

Bilbo nodded. ‘I can understand that… in a weird way.’ It reminded him of the Godfather.

They looked into each other's eyes, and, as if it was scripted, they could hear someone knocking on the front door.

Thorin released Bilbo and stepped back. ‘Stay here.’ Bilbo did not understand where Thorin got the gun from he was suddenly holding. He started to panic. _A gun._ Thorin noticed the younger man staring, his face pale.

‘Bilbo, it’s okay,’ he reassured. ‘It’s just a precaution. On the way here, I called my men to pick us up.’ Thorin had gone and opened the front door, but not before peeking by slightly moving the curtains. Before Bilbo had really realized it, there were two men in expensive suits helping Dwalin up, who was slowly waking up, and a third man walking over to Bilbo. He was older, a friendly face framed with white hair and an equally white beard.

‘You must be Bilbo Baggins,’ the man said and shook Bilbo’s hand. ‘I’m Balin. Thank you for helping my idiot brother.’

‘Dwalin is your brother?’

‘Sadly.’ Balin smiled. ‘He’s a good lad, but does first and thinks later.’

‘Ah, good to know,’ Bilbo muttered. That was something he could tell Ori. Oh god, Ori! How would he explain this? The two men had already helped Dwalin into the car and Balin was moving towards the front door. ‘Thank you again, Bilbo. We owe you one.’

‘Oh, rather not…’ Bilbo said.

Thorin walked up to Bilbo. ‘Grab your things. I’m driving you to your apartment.’

Bilbo wanted to refuse, but eventually did accept. He wanted to stay close to Thorin for just a moment longer. What was it that he found so attractive about Thorin? It was probably the sense of danger he felt, the exhilaration of solving a good mystery. 

Bilbo grabbed his bag and coat and locked up. When they were in the car, Thorin wondered aloud how Dwalin was going to explain this to Ori. Then Thorin said: ‘You should probably tell him. Otherwise, I fear my bodyguard might actually die to his angry boyfriend.’ 

‘You knew?’

‘Of course I knew.’ Thorin laughed. ‘Dwalin has been my friend since we were in diapers. In all the time he has been working for me, he has never asked for a night off.’

‘Well, since you know, can _you_ tell Ori?’ Bilbo pleaded.

‘No, Ori seems like someone you don’t want to get into a fight with.’

Bilbo laughed. ‘You walk around with a gun, but are afraid to tell this to Ori?’

‘Just because I have a gun, doesn’t mean I like using it, or want to use it. Definitely not on the man Dwalin likes.’

‘He likes Ori?’

‘Yes, he really does.’ Thorin looked at Bilbo, smiling softly. He truly had never met someone like Bilbo. Other guys would have run off screaming at the first change they got. But Bilbo? Bilbo was still here and Thorin definitely knew that Bilbo knew he didn't have clean hands.

Thorin stopped in front of Bilbo’s apartment.

‘Thank you for the cup.’ Bilbo didn’t look at him, but Thorin could see the blush spreading on his cheeks.

‘I noticed you never called or texted.’

‘Well, you insulted me, I yelled at you, and then there was Smaug. So calling was a bit hard to do.’

‘Does tonight change any of that?’ Thorin prayed he didn’t sound too hopeful.

‘Not completely.’ Bilbo looked at Thorin. ‘You need to hire a doctor. You cannot keep coming to the practice to patch you or your friends up. The risks I take to help you are too big. It’s not my practice and I don’t want anything to happen to Beorn or the animals that stay there.’

‘I understand.’

Bilbo paused, twiddling his thumbs as he thought. ‘You can maybe start to make it up to me over a cup of tea.’ Bilbo got out of the car. ‘I’ll text you a place and date.’ He closed the door and ran inside. His heart was beating so hard Bilbo thought it was going to burst. What did he do? Why did he do that? Thorin was clearly bad news! He let himself into the apartment, closed the door and immediately went to bed.

He figured he would let Ori know what happened in the morning. Ori wasn’t nice when anyone woke him up in the middle of the night.

Tea with Thorin Durin?

Bilbo Baggins, what did you do this time? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will reupload the previous chapters since they also got beta read.  
> Tags have also been added for future chapters and the rating has changed.
> 
> Let me know what you think of this chapter. Love to read your feedback :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Ori had crawled into Bilbo’s bed in the late morning to say sorry. Bilbo found himself apologizing as well. He should have been a better friend. If Ori was sleeping with Dwalin, then he would just have to accept that. Bilbo also broke the news about what had happened the night before. It was when Ori was crying his eyes out against Bilbo’s chest that he realized how much the red head liked the big man.

‘So, he’s okay?’

‘Yes, he'll be fine,’ Bilbo assured. ‘Believe it or not, but I’m getting really good at sewing up people. I imagine them as really big dogs. It really seems to help.’

Ori laughed softly, wiping the tears from his cheeks.

‘I’m texting Thorin later to ask how he is doing.’

‘I want to text Dwalin, but I’m not sure if he likes me as much as I like him. I don’t want to seem desperate.’

Bilbo hummed. ‘You can just send: "Hey, heard you got shot and had the bullet removed by a vet student. Are you still down to have sex tonight?" ’

Ori laughed. ‘That’s not funny, Bil.'

‘Too early?’

‘A bit,’ Ori murmured. ‘Text Thorin.’

‘Yep.’ Bilbo pushed Ori off him. They'd been really good friends since the moment they had met each other. They just clicked. Friendships like theirs just felt natural. Bilbo never had any siblings and while Ori did have two of them, they mostly babied him. With Bilbo, they were equals.

BILBO:  _ I wanted to thank you again for the cup _

‘So, you'd rather thank him for an Ikea cup than ask how Dwalin is?’ Ori complained as he sat upright next to Bilbo.

‘I’m going to ask him,’ Bilbo defended himself. ‘I just…'

‘You just wanted to flirt with him first,’ Ori finished Bilbo’s sentence.

‘Ori, I don’t want to flirt with him. I have no interest in him. Oh! He already replied!’

THORIN:  _ No problem. Maybe we can use that cup when we go for tea? _

Of course, Ori had read the text together with Bilbo.

‘He’s asking you out?’

'No… I think I kinda asked him out when he dropped me off…’ Bilbo whispered.

‘Oh God! Bilbo! Explain!’

‘I don’t know,’ Bilbo said defensively as he got out of bed and began dressing. ‘He was actually really nice, despite the whole situation. He apologized for paying for everything and I apologized for yelling at him. Also, when I told him about Smaug he became defensive in his demeanor. He held my wrist and he stood so close to me and it… it just felt so… intimate. I just thought it would be nice to get to know him as Thorin. Not as the guy who paid for our school because I saved his life.'

Ori laughed. ‘This is starting to sound like a film.’

Bilbo scooped up his phone.

BILBO:  _ If a café lets me use my own cup, sure. How is Dwalin doing? _

‘So now you're going out with the guy?’ Ori asked. They both walked to the kitchen and made some breakfast. Today would be a simple day. Bilbo didn’t have to work, at  _ Gandalf’s _ or the clinic, so today would be a nice day to catch up on some homework. Ori would probably disappear into his room and draw or paint.

THORIN:  _ Dwalin is doing fine. Oin gave him some pain meds and told him to rest. You can tell Ori he has been in a sour mood since he won’t be able to take him out tonight. _

‘Hey Ori, were you going to dinner with Dwalin tonight?’ Bilbo asked.

‘Oh yes,’ Ori pouted. ‘I guess that’s canceled. How is he?

‘He got meds and was told to rest. I’m sorry, Ori. Dwalin is probably just as bummed as you are.'

That was the start of convincing Ori that he wasn’t lying when Thorin had told him that Dwalin really liked Ori. After that Bilbo learned who Óin was from Thorin. He was their family doctor, but his hands had started shaking a few years back. He could help with small cuts and bruises, painkillers and the flu, but surgery wasn’t a possibility. Bilbo felt so sorry for Óin. He couldn’t imagine losing the ability to use his hands to perform the job he enjoyed so much.

Bilbo didn’t get much done that day. He and Thorin kept texting. Nothing serious, but Bilbo did enjoy it. At some point during the day Bilbo had made a mental list of pros and cons of actually going out for tea with Thorin.

He was one of the most handsome men he had ever met, he seemed nice, seemed to really care about his friends and family, was honest when Bilbo asked him questions (or at least he hoped that Thorin was honest).

He was also probably into illegal stuff, he was arrogant about the money, was he in a gang, and what was his relation to Smaug?

Bilbo stared at his phone. What if Thorin was dangerous?

But what if he wasn’t?

Bilbo was driving himself crazy.

Ori was already getting ready for bed when Bilbo was still fighting himself over whether or not he should text Thorin to go for a drink or a cup of tea, maybe dinner? Maybe sex.

‘Bilbo, come on, just text the man and get that damn cup of tea!’ Ori exclaimed. ‘This is just getting sad.’

‘I can’t, Ori.’ Bilbo hid his face in his pillow. ‘What if…’

‘What-ifs don’t get you out of the front door, Bil.’

‘Okay, well.’ Bilbo sat up and pouted. ‘I’m going to sleep on it for a night.’

Ori stared at Bilbo with a blank look in his eyes. ‘You are a sad, sad, sad man, Bilbo Baggins.’

Bilbo gave his friend a look and got ready for bed. Little did he know, Ori was the biggest asshole he’d ever met. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!
> 
> Here is chapter 7. It's a bit short, but longer chapters will follow soon.  
> Let me know what you think :)
> 
> Another thanks to my beta-reader, eroticnarwhal :)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys!
> 
> Hope you are all still enjoying this story :D
> 
> I wrote a lot in the last few days and the chapters are certainly getting longer, maybe even a little bit darker. I love the comments I got from you guys, it really makes my day to know you enjoy the story. They even motivated me to maybe even start writing other little stories :) No worries, though, this story is still my writing priority ;) 
> 
> Beta-read :)

**Chapter 8**

THORIN:  _ I’m downstairs. _

Bilbo stared in confusion at his phone. Why? Why in gods name would Thorin be downstairs? Bilbo opened the text to answer him. It was then that he saw the text above. He apparently had sent Thorin a text saying to pick him up on Tuesday at four o’clock to go for a cup of tea. Yet Bilbo had apparently sent that text at two in the morning, on a night that Bilbo went to bed early.

‘ORI!’ Bilbo yelled as he stormed into Ori’s room. ‘What did you  _ do?’ _

Ori just smiled innocently. ‘I got you a date. By your reaction, I think your date just arrived. You better go downstairs.’ After a long pause, Ori rolled his eyes and scoffed. ‘You’d better skedaddle, because Dwalin was dropped off by Thorin and he’s coming up.’

‘Oh God, Ori!’

‘You should leave, Bilbo.’ Ori winked. ‘His shot wound is a lot better.’

Bilbo’s face exploded into pink. He quickly popped into the bathroom, fixed his hair, grabbed his stuff and left. He met Dwalin on the stairs.

‘Bilbo.’

‘Dwalin. How’s the shoulder?’

‘Good. Thank you.’

‘…’

‘…’

‘Alright! Have fun.’

‘Yep, you too.’

It was probably the longest conversation Bilbo had had with Dwalin and he took out a bullet out of him.

Thorin was indeed downstairs waiting for him. He was leaning against a black car, looking handsome. He was wearing a dark blue sweater with black jeans. His long hair was pulled back in a ponytail and he was wearing sunglasses. He looked so… normal. Rich, but normal. Not at all like the guy Bilbo had met before--some stuck up ass in an expensive suit that probably cost enough to pay for Bilbo’s apartment for about three months. 

Bilbo found it charming how normal Thorin tried to look, yet he still looked expensive. The smile on Thorin’s face when he saw Bilbo was almost blinding. Bilbo could feel himself blush. Not only because Thorin smiled like that at him, but also because he could not afford to look as well-off as Thorin. He was wearing simple dark brown trousers and one of his favorite crème cardigans. He looked so simple.

Thorin, meanwhile, could only focus on how cute Bilbo looked.

If someone would have told Thorin a year ago that he'd be taking a university student out for a cup of tea, he’d have laughed them off. But right now, the only thing Thorin wanted to do was to press his body against Bilbo’s and kiss him. He had never met someone like Bilbo. He had helped him, yelled at him, helped him again, and then asked him out. Bilbo wasn’t afraid to treat him like a normal person. It was refreshing.

‘Hello Bilbo.’ Thorin straightened, suddenly nervous. He opened the door to the passenger seat for Bilbo.

‘Just so you know:  _ Ori _ texted you while I slept, so basically he planned this,’ Bilbo said.

Thorin looked at him over his sunglasses. ‘I still get to take you out, so I don’t care.’ 

Bilbo snorted and rolled his eyes. Thorin closed the door after Bilbo slipped in and looked up to the apartment complex. He saw Ori and Dwalin spying on them from the window. Ori did a little wave before being pulled away by the larger men.

‘So, where are we going?’

XoXoX

‘I did not expect you to take me here.’ Bilbo laughed.

‘Well, if anything I learned about you is that I cannot impress you with money and wealth, so this looked like a safe choice to change your opinion of me,’ Thorin said, feeling very smart.

Normally, he would take his date to a fancy restaurant and shower them with the best food and wine. But with Bilbo, he had to think twice. He could take Bilbo to a fancy restaurant, but not all the time. Bilbo was the kind of guy who could enjoy a greasy deli sandwich, but probably also appreciate an eight course meal in a restaurant with an expensive dress code. But that would be reserved for special dates. Wait, was this a date? Probably not. He was here to change Bilbo’s opinion of him. And this was a great place to start.

They were at Starbucks.

Thorin had still paid.

‘So, you actually come here?’ Bilbo sipped his tea. ‘Without me?’

‘…Yes.’

‘You hesitated.’

‘I ask my driver or my assistant to bring it.’

Bilbo laughed. Thorin felt a little proud of himself, having made Bilbo laugh like that.

‘So, tell me about school. Why did you decide to become a vet?’

‘I grew up in a small village with lots of animals and I just love them. My grandparents had a big farm and I got to take care of the smaller animals,’ Bilbo explained. 

‘And literature?’

‘Oh, small village with a very sad internet connection. My parents loved to read and when they passed, I was able to take all the books with me.’

‘I’m sorry to hear that.’ Thorin knew the pain of losing a parent.

‘Well, nothing can be done about it now. So, what is it exactly that you do?’ They sat in a more secluded corner of Starbucks and it wasn’t busy, so Thorin could speak more freely about what he did.

‘I’m the owner of the Erebor clubs in town. I also own a few places overseas,’ Thorin answered. ‘My family has owned those buildings for generations. My great grandfather built them as factories to secretly brew whiskey and after my grandfather got them, he remodeled them into clubs.’ Thorin was honest… mostly. His great grandfather had also brewed other things.

‘So, what you do is completely legal?’

Thorin nodded. ‘What  _ I _ do is. The drugs are something that comes with owning a club. It is not something I’m fond of. What happened to you and to Dwalin, is something that I have been fighting for my entire life to avoid. It went great for a while, but Smaug came back into town and he thinks I owe him the privilege to deal in my clubs. Dwalin being shot was the result of me throwing Smaug's dealers out.’

‘So you never went into drugs?’

‘My grandfather did. I’m cleaning up his mess.’

‘But  _ you _ never…?’

‘No, never.’

They fell silent. Bilbo was staring at Thorin's shoes. He was thinking. It was making Thorin a bit nervous. He was still a man.

After a few minutes, Bilbo just said: ‘Okay.’

‘Okay?

‘Okay.’

XoXoX

The date that wasn’t a date went great. Thorin got to know Bilbo a lot better, even if he made a small mental note to himself to get a background check done on Bilbo. Not that he didn’t trust (that’s a heavy word) Bilbo, but he had a feeling Bilbo wasn’t telling him everything. He had really enjoyed his time spent with the smaller man and Thorin hoped he had been able to change Bilbo’s opinion of him.

Thorin was dropping Bilbo off at his apartment. He was able to park just in front of the building and turned off the engine. It was already late enough for dinner, but Thorin didn’t want to push Bilbo. The younger man was looking at his phone, but put it back in his pocket quickly.

‘This was fun,’ Bilbo said.

‘Fun enough to change your opinion of me?’ Thorin asked.

Bilbo blushed. ‘…Yes.’

‘Fun enough to maybe go for dinner later this week?’

For a few moments, there was silence.

‘…No…’

It was difficult for Thorin to hide his disappointment. He’d enjoyed his time with Bilbo. It was nice to talk to someone with no ulterior motives. Bilbo was brave and had a pure heart and Thorin knew he would have to do a lot to keep Bilbo safe, but he was worth it. So when Bilbo said ‘no’, Thorin felt a tiny stab.

Thorin felt his heart skip a beat when Bilbo looked at him with a smug grin. 

‘I’m hungry  _ now.’ _


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys,
> 
> hope you are all save and healthy. Here you have chapter nine and just a heads up:  
> Trigger Warning: attempted sexual assault!
> 
> Let me know what you think of the new chapter :) It really makes my day to read your comments.
> 
> Another thanks to my beta-reader :)  
> [Beta](http://archiveofourown.org/users/raewise)

**Chapter 9**

Dinner was great. Thorin was a perfect gentleman. He had taken Bilbo to a small, but very exclusive restaurant that was owned by one of Thorin’s close friends. Bombur was a real sweetheart with a love for food that was stronger than anything. Thorin had to text Dwalin so he would know he needed to get a cab if he wanted to get home, since Thorin had driven Dwalin to Ori’s. They never got a reply…

Bilbo never wanted that night to end and was actually sad when Thorin drove them back to his apartment. It was late… or early… It depended on how someone would describe coming home from a wonderful night when the sun was slowly coming up.

Thorin didn’t want to let Bilbo out of the car, but he knew he would have to open the door for him sometime soon. So there they sat, still talking and laughing at Bilbo’s front door.

‘This was nice,’ Bilbo said lightly.

‘Did it change something?’

Bilbo laughed. ‘Yes, it definitely changed something. Were you really that set on changing my opinion of you?’

‘Wel, you know, my mother always told me the best way to a man's heart was through his stomach,’ Thorin joked. ‘Of course that’s what she told my sister. She told me and my brother to buy diamonds.’

‘You didn’t tell me you have siblings.’

‘Oh, yes. D **í** s is the middle child, Frerin is the youngest.’

‘Do you like each other?’

‘Oh, D **í** s loves me,’ Thorin said with a lot of confidence.

‘And Frerin?’

‘Frerin is a little asshole.’

Bilbo laughed and it made Thorin smile. Holy shit, he was really starting to like Bilbo.

‘So the sun is coming up and I have to go to my classes in a few hours,’ Bilbo muttered.

‘I’m sorry I kept you up all night.’ Thorin noticed how the first sun rays made Bilbo’s eyes look like fresh honey. He slowly moved his body closer to Bilbo’s.

‘It’s okay…’ Bilbo said softly, immediately noticing Thorin moving closer. ‘I don’t mind.’ He leaned in towards Thorin. ‘So… how many times do I have to stitch someone up before you kiss me?’

‘Two is enough,’ Thorin said softly before he pressed his lips against Bilbo’s. He pulled Bilbo’s body completely against that of his own and he could feel a smaller hand in his hair and on the back of his neck. 

Bilbo had never been kissed like this by anyone. Thorin was sweet, but passionate. He could feel the soft pressure of Thorin's warm hands on his hips. It was just hard enough to imply a certain wanting. Bilbo simply melted away in those strong arms and unbelievable lips. It was the first time Bilbo kissed someone with a beard.

He didn’t hate it.

It was Thorin who ended the kiss, softly panting. They both took a second to catch their breath. Both of them wanted nothing more than to start kissing again. Thorin would have done that immediately with the way Bilbo was looking at him. Hell, he would have done more and normally he would. Sex was just sex for Thorin, as he never linked anything emotional to it. But this? This was different.  _ Bilbo _ was different.

‘I should go up…’ Bilbo whispered. He was still pressed against Thorin and honestly didn’t want to leave, but he had to sleep at least a little before he went to class.

‘Yes, of course.’ Thorin nodded and kissed Bilbo again.

This kiss was shorter but filled with just as much sweetness and passion.

This went on for a while, but in the end Thorin sent Bilbo into his apartment, promising he would text him.

Thorin drove off with a smile, while Bilbo fell asleep with much the same expression.

XoXoX

He and Bilbo had gotten together multiple times in a few months. They still didn’t call their dates… well, dates… They would go to Starbucks for tea. Sometimes Thorin would pick Bilbo up from school and go for a bite, sometimes they would just meet somewhere and walk. They simply enjoyed each other's company, but they were not dating and they were not together.

So when Thorin was almost an hour late for tea that day, Bilbo got a bit worried. Thorin is… Thorin is a real adult. Like an  _ adult _ adult, with a house and a job and a real life. Bilbo is an adult in age, but maybe Thorin didn’t see him as a full adult, just a university student. Maybe Thorin got tired of him, maybe he got tired of waiting. Everyone was able to sense the tension between them from a mile away, yet they hadn’t even had sex.

Dwalin was now a regular at the apartment. Teasing Bilbo about how slow he and Thorin took things, even when it was clear that they wanted to be together. But Bilbo was under the impression that it was Thorin who took things slow. If it had been up to Bilbo they would have had sex by now. Bilbo shook off the nasty thought. Thorin would at least be man enough to say something to Bilbo if he was bored with him. That was at least what Bilbo hoped.

Bilbo’s phone was buzzing. Thorin was calling.

‘I wouldn’t answer that,’ a cold voice told Bilbo. He looked up. In front of his table stood Smaug. ‘Can I join you?’

‘No,’ Bilbo answered harshly. His phone was still buzzing on the table. Smaug sat down anyway. Bilbo immediately noticed two men who just didn’t fit into the Starbucks vibe. They did fit into the Smaug vibe.

‘How are you, Bilbo?’ The buzzing died down, but soon started again. ‘Well, this is just annoying.’ Smaug grabbed Bilbo’s phone and refused the call.

‘What do you want?’ Bilbo asked bluntly.

‘Why do you think I want something, Bilbo dear?’ Smaug smiled. It gave Bilbo the chills.

‘You don’t seem like the type to visit Starbucks.’

‘Hmmm, you’re right, I do want something.’ Smaug stood up. ‘Azog, take him.’

Bilbo was in an instant panic. A very pale man grabbed Bilbo by the back of his neck and arm. Bilbo did his best to resist and free himself, but it hurt so much. The pale man just put more pressure on his spine. Bilbo was dragged out of the Starbucks and thrown in the backseat of a car. Smaug sat down next to him like nothing had happened, whilst Azog and his friend sat up front. They peeled off and Bilbo felt his stomach in his shoes.

‘What the hell!’ Bilbo yelled. ‘Let me out!’

‘That’s not how this works, Bilbo.’ Smaug smirked. ‘Didn’t Thorin explain  _ anything  _ to you?’

‘Explain what?’ Bilbo sat as far as he could from Smaug.

‘You two spent  _ more _ than enough time together over the past months.’ Smaug eyed Bilbo up and down. ‘Or maybe you two were too preoccupied with other things. I certainly can imagine a few things.’ Smaug's hand ghosted over Bilbo’s leg, ‘You see, dear, I don’t like it when Thorin takes what is mine, but I do like to take things that are his.’ Tt was barely a touch but it was more than enough for Bilbo to slap Smaug's face.

‘I’m not a possession!’ Bilbo snapped, surprised at what he had done. ‘I do not  _ belong _ to Thorin!’

The car stopped. Smaug was clearly pissed. He grabbed Bilbo’s wrist and yanked him out of the car into a large building. It looked like a warehouse. Bilbo tried to free himself, but that made Smaug even madder. Smaug yanked Bilbo against his body, holding Bilbo’s wrist into the air so high Bilbo stood on his toes.

‘You think that this is a great moment for you to fight me, Bilbo Baggins? You really want to push me?’ Smaug was furious and it made Bilbo stop fighting him. Smaug eyed him again. ‘I can see why Thorin keeps you close.’ Smaug breathed in deeply, capturing Bilbo’s scent. And then he did something that made Bilbo gag. Smaug bent down and trailed his tongue from Bilbo’s neck to right beside his ear. He licked his lips as if he had just had dessert.

Smaug pulled Bilbo into a room Bilbo could only guess was Smaug's office. It was very cold and hardly had any furniture. It looked like something temporarily. It made sense. Why would Smaug bring Bilbo to his real office with the risk of Thorin following him?

‘What is it that you want?’ Bilbo yelled. He worried his wrist might snap under Smaug’s tight grip.

‘I WANT IT ALL BACK!’ Smaug yelled. He sighed through his nose. ‘But since that is not happening soon, I’ll just take whatever I can get!’ Smaug grabbed Bilbo’s face and kissed him. He was forceful and let his free hand roam over Bilbo’s body, playing with his nipples through the fabric of his shirt. Basically, trying to rip his clothes off despite Bilbo’s attempts to fight him off. Bilbo was crying and half naked by now, still fighting but clearly losing the battle. He almost gave up on Thorin, when there was a knock on the office door.

‘WHAT?’ Smaug yelled. The door opened. It was Azog.

‘He’s here.’

Smaug released Bilbo who fell onto his knees, tears were still streaming down his face.

‘Tie him up and leave him here and then join me.’ Smaug ordered Azog, straightened his suit and left.

Azog tied Bilbo up way rougher and harder than he had to. His hands were tied behind his back and if he tried to move them, he would only tighten the rope around his neck.

Bilbo was left alone on the floor, half naked, tied up and crying.

_ What was happening? _

There were so many questions that he wanted answered, but right now, he just wanted to go back home. He wanted his cup of tea with Thorin. Thorin. Oh god, he wanted to be with Thorin so badly. Realistically, Thorin was the source of why Bilbo was in that situation. But Bilbo had never felt more safe and loved when he was with Thorin.

_ Gunshots. _

Bilbo had never heard real gunshots before, but it made his blood run cold. He started to wiggle, trying to get out of those ropes, but it only started to choke him.

_ Gunshots. _

This wasn’t good.

_ Gunshots. _

This was it.

The gunshots came closer. Bilbo could hear people yell and scream at each other. And then it all stopped. Bilbo’s heart stopped and he squeezed his eyes closed, blocking out everything that was happening. The office door opened.

This is the end.

Warm hands started to untie him and he could hear a familiar voice.

‘Bilbo. Bilbo, look at me. Bilbo.’ He was completely free and he opened his eyes.

Thorin.

Thorin sat on the floor as he tried to get Bilbo to respond to him.

‘Bilbo, look at me.’

Bilbo didn’t really know how he did it, but before he realized it, he was sat in Thorin's lap, crying against his chest. Thorin hugged him and whispered sweet nothings into his ear. For a long time, the two sat there like that.

Later, when they were alone in Thorin’s apartment, Bilbo saw the look in his eyes. Thorin was furious.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!  
> I'm so sorry it's been so long. But a lot of things got crazy for school and it's a complete mess. It's been quiet stressful and mentally I wasn't doing so great, so I wasn't really focussed on posting new chapters. But I'm feeling much better now and it was really nice to read your comments and what you guy's thought of the story so far. It actually helped me, so thank you all for that ;)
> 
> Also, this chapter is smut
> 
> Trigger Warning: discussion of an attempted sexual assault.
> 
> A big thanks to my wonderful beta-reader :)  
> [Beta](http://archiveofourown.org/users/raewise)

**Chapter 10**

Thorin hadn’t said anything to him the entire drive to his apartment. Bilbo was wrapped up in Thorin's coat. His clothes were ruined, but he couldn’t get him to the car half naked. 

Bilbo pulled the fabric tighter over his body. The coat smelled of Thorin and Bilbo breathed it in. Wanting to drown in it, forget everything that just happened. Forget that someone had touched him like that. He needed to forget, he needed his questions answered, but he didn’t dare say anything. He was freaking out. What had just happened? Why would Smaug want  _ him? _ He wasn’t anything special. He was a normal, small town guy. Bilbo knew it was all about Thorin. He was just a pawn, or at least that was what he hoped he was. Just a simple pawn in a fucked up chess game (Bilbo wasn't sure he was on the winning side).

Bilbo hardly reacted when Thorin opened the passenger door. He lifted Bilbo up and cradled him against his chest. If the situation had been different, Bilbo would have appreciated how beautiful Thorin's apartment was. But it wasn’t the right time.

Thorin sat Bilbo down on his couch and crouched down in front of him. He tried to stay calm, he had to for Bilbo, but he was boiling on the inside.

‘Bilbo,’ Thorin started. ‘I need to know if you are okay. Did he hurt you?’

Bilbo shook his head. His wrist hurt, but that was the least of his worries.

‘Bilbo...’ There were a lot of questions that Thorin had to ask, but he wasn't sure he wanted the answers. He didn’t like the idea that Smaug had touched Bilbo, possibly had done other things. ‘What did Smaug say to you?’

It took Bilbo a moment to realize the question. ‘He said you took things from him and he didn’t like that.’ Bilbo took a deep breath, but didn’t dare look at Thorin. He wouldn’t want him now. He felt dirty. ‘However, he does like to take things that are yours.’

‘He touched you.’ It wasn’t a question.

Bilbo wasn’t completely shocked by the hardness in Thorin's voice. This was it. This was the end of… whatever it was they had.

‘Bilbo.’ Thorin could no longer hide his anger. ’Did he touch you?’

‘He wanted to take what’s yours,’ Bilbo answered, still not able to look at Thorin.

Thorin grabbed Bilbo’s hand, luckily his good hand, and pulled him from the couch. Thorin's coat fell from his shoulders as the older man dragged him to… where? The front door to throw him out?

It was the bathroom. They were in the bathroom. Bilbo didn’t understand. Thorin let the shower run so the water could get nice and warm.

‘Take off the rest of your clothes,’ Thorin said as he started to strip down himself.

‘Thorin, I…’ Bilbo started.

‘Bilbo, take off your clothes.’ The fire in Thorin's voice scared Bilbo a bit, but he still did what he was told and wiggled out of his trousers. He had never felt so exposed, but then Thorin took his hand and pulled him under the warm water, and he felt safe.

Thorin kept Bilbo close, hugging him, whispering sweet words in his ear while gently washing Bilbo’s soft skin. Bilbo just let him. It felt so nice to let Thorin wash away Smaug's lingering touches from his body. It felt so right. To feel Thorin's warm and strong body against his, it almost made him forget everything that had happened.

‘I need to know what he did to you, Bilbo.’

‘He kissed me,’ Bilbo answered slowly. ‘He started to take off my clothes. But that’s all. One of his men tied me up when you came, but that’s it. Thorin, I tried to fight him. I really did. You have to believe me! I just couldn’t…’ Tears were welling up in his eyes.

‘I believe you, Bilbo.’ Thorin softly lifted Bilbo’s head up so he could look him in the eyes. ‘I believe you. You did what you could do. You’re safe now.’ He let his thumb slowly run over Bilbo’s lips. How dare that snake touch Bilbo? Thorin suspected what it was that Smaug wanted, but he would take care of that later. Right now, he had more urgent business.

They stood there under the warm water, holding each other. The earth could have been on fire and Thorin still wouldn’t have broken their eye contact.

‘Bilbo, can I…’

‘Yes.’ Bilbo didn’t let Thorin finish his question and before he knew it, he was pressed against the cold bathroom wall with Thorin kissing him like there was no tomorrow.

Thorin lifted Bilbo up so he could carry him easily to the bedroom. Bilbo wrapped his legs around Thorin's waist. Both were able to feel how aroused the other was. Thorin turned off the water and carried Bilbo out of the ensuite and to the bedroom.

Thorin dropped Bilbo onto the bed, but Bilbo didn’t want to be separated. He pulled Thorin's long hair to force him closer. It made Thorin smile to see the fire and the passion in Bilbo’s honey-coloured eyes. If possible, it made him want him even more.

Thorin broke their kiss, panting into his mouth. ‘Tell me when to stop.’

He grabbed a small bottle from the nightstand and kissed his way down to Bilbo’s cock. Every so often, he stopped to suck a mark into his soft skin. The moans and sounds he got from Bilbo only made him harder. He teased Bilbo, letting his beard drag over the soft and sensitive skin, kissing and sucking on his inner thigh, but the moans he got when he took Bilbo into his mouth were like sweet honey. It was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.

Bilbo was by no means a virgin, but there was something to say about having a partner with years more experience than you. Thorin made his way up again. Bilbo immediately pulled him close for another kiss. It was short, but it made his head feel fuzzy.

Thorin reached for the bottle of lube on the bed and spread the liquid on his fingers. His lubed up fingers circling Bilbo’s entrance. ‘Tell me if you want to stop,’ he warned Bilbo. He didn't want Bilbo to be hurt again. He pushed one finger in.

It wasn’t uncomfortable, but Thorin had big hands and thick fingers.

‘Relax, love,’ Thorin whispered in Bilbo’s ear as he pushed a second finger in. Bilbo gasped, yet pushed his body to relax. It burned a little but it didn’t hurt. It just felt so good.

By the time there were three fingers in Bilbo, he was a complete mess, moaning and crying out in pleasure. He wanted Thorin so badly. A soft whimper escaped his throat when Thorin pulled his fingers out. He didn’t want to feel this empty. Thorin positioned them so his arms were under Bilbo’s knees, almost folding him in two. When Thorin kissed him, he felt something entering him. He screamed out in pleasure, but also a bit of pain. Thorin was as girthy as his body suggested. It was difficult to get his body to relax.

Thorin only pushed himself halfway in and waited. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Bilbo, but by the gods, he was tight. With other lovers he hadn’t had so much patience. He was a generous lover, but not a patient one. Bilbo was different, he  _ wanted _ to be patient.

‘Breathe, Bilbo,’ Thorin whispered as he peppered Bilbo’s neck with kisses. ‘Take your time, and breathe.’ It took a little while, but when Bilbo eventually told him he was alright, Thorin made him see stars. Hitting that sweet spot again and again. Bilbo had never had sex like this before. It was raw and rough, but at the same time intimate and sweet.

Thorin felt himself get close. Bilbo hadn’t come yet, but he bet it wouldn’t take that long any more. He reached between their bodies and started to jerk him off at the same pace he moved. It made Bilbo dig his nails into Thorin's shoulder blades.

It didn’t take long for Bilbo to come and Thorin followed soon. They stayed still, trying to catch their breath. Thorin was still inside of Bilbo and he could have stayed like that till the end of time. He would die a happy man like this. Yet, realistically, they had to move at some point.

Thorin softly pulled out and got up from the bed to get a towel from the bathroom. He saw himself in the bathroom mirror, hair an absolute mess. It would take ages to detangle it. He also noticed scratch marks on his shoulders and back. Thorin smiled. He had training with Dwalin the next day. Dwalin would tease him endlessly if he saw the marks.

He returned to the bed. Bilbo was half asleep and let Thorin clean him up with only a slight shiver at the too-cold towel. They didn’t need to say anything more. Thorin pulled the sheets over them and pulled Bilbo close to him. Bilbo immediately snuggled up against him and sighed blissfully.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!
> 
> So I've been a bit busy with school, which is an absolute mess, so I haven't been writing much and I really don't like that. I don't want to loose my touch with this story.
> 
> Let me know what you thought of this chapter. I love to read your comments.
> 
> A big thanks to my wonderful beta-reader :)  
> [Beta](http://archiveofourown.org/users/raewise)

**Chapter 11**

Thorin had canceled everything for the next day. For once in his life he just wanted to stay in his apartment, order food, and keep Bilbo as close as possible. 

He had told Balin to find out what happened and how Smaug was able to follow them without them knowing it. How had he been so blind to not notice that they were being watched? Well, he knew the answer. It was still sleeping next to him. 

Bilbo had been glued to his side the entire night. Honestly, Thorin didn’t mind. Most of the time if he shared his bed with someone, they didn’t stay to sleep. It also had never been the intention for them to stay. It was sex and then they left. Thorin slept alone. But Bilbo? Bilbo would never be allowed to leave his bed if he had a say in it. He had really fallen for the student. It made Thorin smile, but also panic. Bilbo wasn’t suited for the life Thorin led: the nightclubs, the casino, the dangers inherent.

Questions started to flood Thorin’s mind. Had Smaug followed Bilbo to his own home? Was Bilbo still safe at his small apartment? What about Ori? Would they still be safe there? Should they still live there?

After Thorin had taken Bilbo, he had sent Dwalin to Ori. Not that the large man needed to be told, as he was already halfway there when he got the order.

Dwalin had said he would text Thorin when he was with Ori, but Thorin hadn’t touched his phone since they had arrived at his apartment. He reached over to the nightstand, careful so he wouldn’t wake up Bilbo. 

DWALIN: _Call me._

Thorin really didn’t want to get up, but it would probably be important. He softly slipped away from Bilbo and put on some sweatpants. He first went to the kitchen for some coffee. He liked tea, but coffee was his breakfast.

He dialled.

‘Hello,’ Dwalin answered. He sounded sleepy.

‘Did I wake you?’

‘No, noo.’ (Thorin could hear a soft voice mumble something and Dwalin softly saying, “Go back to sleep.”)

‘Where are you?’ Thorin asked.

‘My place. I couldn’t leave Ori at their apartment.’

Dwalin never took _anyone_ to his place, always saying it was easier to just leave if he needed to. Ori must be pretty special. But that didn’t matter now.

‘What happened?’

Dwalin sighed. ‘It’s bad, Thorin. The apartment is completely trashed. One of the neighbors said they heard noises, but when they went to check, they were told they were doing reno.’

‘When did they do this?’

‘I think Smaug called his men from the car while they escaped. They can’t live there anymore, Thorin. It’s not safe. He knows where Bilbo and Ori live.’

‘How is Ori?’ Thorin asked. He prayed that Ori hadn’t been hurt, but Dwalin would have already told him that if that was the case.

‘Luckily, he wasn’t at home when it happened. He was working at that bookshop. He’s pretty shaken up, but okay. It broke his little heart to see his room, Thorin. There wasn’t a paintbrush that wasn’t snapped in two.’ 

Thorin remembered Bilbo’s apartment. He hadn’t been there since the last time, but he remembered the books everywhere, the drawings and paintings everywhere. The apartment breathed the personalities of the two students.

‘Do you know why they took Bilbo?’ Dwalin asked.

‘I’m not sure. I tasked Balin with finding out what Smaug wanted, but I haven’t heard from him. I don’t understand why he would trash Bilbo’s apartment.’ Thorin sighed, taking a sip from his coffee. He could hear Ori saying something in the background.

‘What did you tell Bilbo?’

‘We didn’t really talk last night. What did you tell Ori?’

Dwalin laughed. ‘I actually told him the truth. What we do--what _I_ do--what happened last night.’

‘Dwalin, that’s….’

‘I know.’ Thorin could hear Dwalin open the door to the balcony and close it behind him. ‘Thorin, Ori is special. This isn’t a fling. He deserves to know the truth and I’m not going to lie to him.’

It made Thorin question himself. What would he have told Bilbo? Dwalin had an actual point and it sucked. Because Thorin knew it would be difficult for Bilbo. He felt jealous at how easy Dwalin made honesty seem.

They said very little after that. They agreed to meet up at the apartment in a few hours, Dwalin teased Thorin a bit more about Bilbo, and Thorin quickly ended the call. He had just made tea and was just going to wake up Bilbo when the younger man entered the kitchen. He was wearing a t-shirt from Thorin which reached about mid-thigh and it only made him cuter.

‘Hi.’

Thorin wrapped his arms around Bilbo’s tiny waist and pulled him close. Kissing Bilbo made the stress of the past day melt away. Thorin broke off the kiss and smiled. ‘Hi. How are you feeling?’ Thorin asked softly.

‘Okay. I’m still a bit shaken up, but okay. Thorin, what happened last night?’ Bilbo asked softly, but his voice got stern when he noticed how Thorin looked at him. ‘And don’t try to lie to me! I got kidnapped and molested because of you! I deserve to know the truth! I need …’ Bilbo started to panic, but Thorin calmed him down quickly.

‘I don’t know, Bilbo,’ Thorin started truthfully and led Bilbo to sit at the kitchen island. ‘I suspect Smaug took you to get to me, or that he wanted to use you as a trade. We’re not sure yet. Balin is looking into it. Bilbo, I need you to know that I never wanted anything to happen to you. I never suspected he’d stoop so low as kidnapping. There weren’t _any_ signs that he was following us.’

Bilbo truly didn’t know what to say. It did confirm his suspicion of Thorin being in some weird mafia-like situation though.

‘You know this whole thing is fucked up, right? Everything.’

Thorin nodded, sitting down next to Bilbo. ‘I know, Bilbo, and I understand if you want to back out of this.’

‘Back out of what, Thorin?’ Bilbo snapped. ‘I don’t even know what _this_ is! Are we just having fun, are we dating? Was I just a plaything? Am I wasting my time?’

‘No, you are _not_ wasting your time,’ Thorin answered without hesitation. ‘If I just wanted sex, it would have been a done deal. For me, we are together.’

‘Together… as in a relationship?’ Bilbo asked. ‘Like a couple?’ His heart was going to burst. He had already fallen for Thorin, hard.

‘Yes.’

Bilbo didn’t answer. He was in a relationship?

‘Like a boyfriend?’ he eventually asked.

Thorin laughed. ‘A bit juvenile, but I guess that’s what I get when dating a younger man.’

Bilbo blushed. He had never been called ‘special’, at least not the way Thorin meant.

‘So, what now?’ he asked eventually. ‘We’re just… in a relationship?’

‘Is that not what you want?’ Thorin moved closer to Bilbo.

‘No, I… I want this.’ He kissed Thorin, wrapping his arms around that strong neck and shoulders. Thorin lifted him up and put him on the kitchen island. That way, it was easier to kiss. Thorin let his hands slip over Bilbo’s hips under his t-shirt. He wasn’t wearing any underwear and _god_ was that ever sexy. Would Bilbo be up for round two? 

_No, no, no, tell him about his apartment!_

Thorin broke off the kiss. ‘I need to tell you something.’

XoXoX

Bilbo was not happy when Thorin told him about the apartment. He got a bit calmer when Thorin assured him Ori was okay and that he was with Dwalin. Bilbo demanded they leave immediately. They got dressed and drove to the apartment. Thorin let Dwalin know they were on their way and would meet them up there.

Dwalin was already there, smoking a cigarette at the front door.

‘How are you, Bilbo?’ he asked.

‘Okay, all things considered. Is Ori inside?’

Dwalin nodded and Bilbo went into the building. Dwalin offered Thorin his cigarette, who took it.

‘Have you heard anything from Balin?’ Thorin took a long drag.

‘He’s still looking into it.’

Thorin nodded, gave the cigarette back, and followed Bilbo to his apartment.

It was a disaster. Dwalin hadn’t overreacted, but it was clear that Smaug’s men hadn’t done it just for fun. They were looking for something. Did Smaug think he stored things at Bilbo’s?

XoXoX

Bilbo was in his bedroom, pushing his mattress back into the bed frame. He started cleaning everything up. Luckily, most of his possessions were intact, but littered across the entire floor. About a dozen or so books were ripped apart. His laptop still turned on, but half of the screen was black and basically useless.

How was he going to replace all these things? He didn’t have the money for any of this. Well, he had a bit of money, but certainly not enough to buy new books and a new laptop. He had set up a new savings account where he had put the money he had gotten back from the university, but that was actually Thorin’s money and he didn’t want to use it.

‘So, what’s the verdict?’ Thorin asked, leaning against the doorframe. He had taken a look at the kitchen and every single plate, cup and bowl was broken. The doors of the kitchen cabinets were broken off their hinges. Food had been thrown around. It was a mess.

‘Well, my laptop is useless, and a few of my new textbooks are ruined. There’s a hole in my mattress. Oh, and I also remembered that Smaug still has my phone.’

Thorin knew if he offered to pay for everything, Bilbo wouldn’t appreciate it.

‘One of my men can take a look at your laptop,’ Thorin offered instead. ‘See if he can save anything.’

Bilbo looked at Thorin and gave him a weary smile. ‘Thank you.’

It took them most of the day to clean most of it up. Their bedrooms were fixed up, the bathroom was mostly untouched anyways, and the living room was where they’d been sorting through the large collection of books to see what was salvageable. They would take the rarer books to the bookstore and ask Gandalf to try and restore them when he got back into town. Their couch was ripped apart, as was Bilbo’s favorite armchair. Ori told Thorin that the chair had belonged to his mother. Thorin immediately understood the sentiment. 

Bilbo dared to start cleaning the kitchen, but he soon stood beside Thorin the shattered remains of a blue cup. ‘Want to go to Ikea?’ Bilbo tried to joke. Thorin gave him a soft smile and a kiss.

The sun was setting when Ori asked Thorin and Dwalin what they were discussing quietly.

‘We don’t think it’s a good idea for you two to stay here,’ Dwalin started and clearly regretted it immediately.

 _‘Excuse_ me?’ Bilbo immediately said. He was sitting on the broken couch but turned around to look at Dwalin. ‘Why not?’

‘What if Smaug’s men return?’ Dwalin shot back.

‘Will they?’ Ori asked and sat down next to Bilbo.

‘There is a possibility,’ Thorin answered. He just wanted to be honest and keep them safe. Dwalin wanted to suggest that Ori would be able to stay with him and Thorin could let Bilbo stay with him. 

‘The university pays for the apartment. We can’t just take our things and leave,’ Ori said. ‘We will already be in trouble for the damages even if we say it was a break in.’

The next hour was filled with arguments to stay and to leave. Dwalin and Thorin didn’t understand why Ori and Bilbo wanted to stay despite Smaug’s men possibly coming back. They didn’t think Ori and Bilbo understood the possible danger they were in.

‘Where would we stay?’ Bilbo exclaimed. ‘We don’t have the money for the repairs, new books and laptops, _and_ a hotel.’

‘Stay with us,’ Dwalin answered without thinking. ‘Just like last night.’

Ori didn’t actually mind the offer, but they couldn’t hide forever. And they needed their books and art materials, clothes, you name it. They would basically have to move everything. That was what he told Thorin and Dwalin. Bilbo agreed with him and disagreed with Thorin when he suggested putting his men at the front door. In the end they agreed on putting two men in front of their building, but they had to stay in the car. It left Thorin in a foul mood.

‘What if they come back?’ he snapped at Bilbo.

‘If they come back, then I will go and stay with you,’ Bilbo snapped back.

Dwalin and Thorin both left in a bad mood, not trusting the situation. Both had a bad feeling about it all, but the students didn’t want to believe them. Bofur and Glóin were already parked in front of the building. Thorin and Dwalin didn’t acknowledge them just in case Smaug’s men were watching.

Since Ori’s mattress was completely torn and ruined, they decided to share Bilbo’s bed until they could order a new one.

It was about four in the morning when Ori tried to wake Bilbo up. 

‘What’s wrong?’

‘I think there is someone in the apartment,’ Ori whispered with a shaky voice.

‘Ori, are you sure?’ Bilbo tried to wake up completely, but he was so tired. ‘Maybe it’s just sleep para--’

Something fell in the living room. They both heard it, so it couldn’t be sleep paranoia. There was very clearly someone in the living room.

‘Ori, call Dwalin,’ Bilbo whispered. They could hear someone cough and… talk? The voice gave Bilbo chills. How many people were in the apartment and where were the two guards Thorin had put in front of the building?

_‘Where are they, precious? Where are they?’_

Ori clung to Bilbo while he called Dwalin.

‘Dwalin, there is someone here,’ Ori whispered when Dwalin picked up. He told them to hide. In such a small room, however, it was impossible. Bilbo searched for something to defend himself. In the end, he picked his laptop. It was already useless in its current state. Ori was holding a chair. The only thing he could do was throw it, but it was better than nothing.

 _‘Are they in here, precious?’_ the voice creaked, and the door was slowly opened. _‘They’re in here, precious.’_ It was a very pale and sickly man in front of them, with very thin hair and big bloodshot eyes. He appeared to be alone and was talking to himself. Bilbo immediately noticed that the man was intoxicated.

 _‘Say bye-bye.’_ The man smiled and lunged towards Bilbo. Bilbo did the only thing he could think off. He smacked his laptop as hard as he could against the man’s head. It was hard enough to knock the man off his feet. When he tried to get up, Ori lifted the chair and smacked it against the man’s back. They could hear more voices yelling and storming into the apartment. Thorin’s men. They had been introduced as Bofur and Glóin, but Bilbo had no idea who was who.

‘Get out,’ one of them, the skinnier one in a hat, yelled. The students both jumped over the sickly man on the floor and ran towards the kitchen. Bilbo grabbed a knife. Just to be sure.

They could hear the sounds of a struggle, yelling and cursing. It didn’t take long before they exited the bedroom, carrying a limp body.

‘Oh god, did you _kill…’_ Ori started.

‘Relax, lad, he’s just unconscious,’ the hat dude said, and they left. 

Dwalin arrived first.

‘Are you two okay? Did he hurt you?’ Dwalin asked both of them. 

‘No, we’re fine,’ Ori said and hugged Dwalin.

Thorin came up a few minutes later, clearly very angry. ‘I _told_ you and you wouldn’t listen to me. You could have been hurt, Bilbo! Do you believe me now? _Now,_ will you come and live with me?’


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys,
> 
> so this is just like a cute chapter because I was in that mood when I was writing it. But things will be happening very soon.
> 
> I'm sorry again for not updating regularly lately. Once school is officially over, I hope it will all fall back into place that feels like a normal routine for me. 
> 
> A big thanks to my wonderful beta-reader :)  
> [Beta](http://archiveofourown.org/users/raewise)

**Chapter 12**

Bilbo didn’t move in with Thorin.

Dwalin had pretty quickly persuaded Ori to live with him. Bilbo couldn’t believe it. Ori was really going to leave the apartment. He was going to have to live alone. He had never really lived alone. 

Ori had good reasons, of course, one of them being the fact that he just didn’t feel safe anymore. His relationship with Dwalin went great, so they both thought it would be logical to take the next step and move in together. Ori was still incredibly uncomfortable that Bilbo actually wanted to stay at the apartment. Not only Ori, but also Thorin and even Dwalin.

Thorin had assigned Glóin and Bofur to keep an eye on Bilbo in shifts, but Bilbo wasn’t supposed to know. Bilbo, of course, knew. After a few days, Bilbo got Bofur and Glóin to start driving him to his classes, the clinic, and the bookshop.

Bilbo learned that the attacker's name was Gollum, a junky that Smaug held under his thumb with the promise of every kind of drug he wanted. The long-time abuse of drugs had made Gollum paranoid and he saw things that weren’t there. Turns out, Gollum was also the one who shot Dwalin. Thorin never told Bilbo what happened to Gollum and Bilbo didn’t want to know. Thorin would never go as far as murder, right?

It was Ori who eventually told Bilbo that Thorin had placed Gollum in a mental facility where he would get the help he needed. In a weird way, it did warm Bilbo’s heart. Thorin had stayed in Bilbo’s apartment for a few days after the break in, but now it had been a week since they’d seen each other. Bilbo understood that Thorin was busy, and it wasn’t as though he had a lot of free time himself. He had papers to write and his exams were starting soon.

He had just finished one of his last shifts at the clinic. Earlier, Beorn had told him he could work at the clinic during the summer. Bilbo was thrilled, but tired. 

Bofur parked in front of the building.

‘Still not coming inside, Bofur?’ Bilbo asked. He found it incredibly weird that both Bofur and Glóin preferred to sit and wait in the car for hours instead of come up to the apartment with him.

‘Nah, thanks though.’ Bofur smiled. ‘See you soon.’

Bilbo was so tired. He had woken up very early to finish a paper, had to rush to school and then had to rush to the clinic for a long shift. He opened his front door and threw his keys in the bowl on the table near the door, but instead of hearing the sound of the metal hitting the ceramic, he heard the keys fall on the floor. Bilbo stared at where his keys had landed. Where was his table? Bilbo looked around in the tiny hallway. Where the hell was his tiny table? Bilbo walked into the living room and just stopped breathing.

His apartment was empty? 

Empty!

Why the hell was his apartment empty? His bedroom, the kitchen, hell, even his bathroom was empty. Even his bed frame was gone.

‘What the hell?’ Bilbo muttered to himself.

He went back to the hallway to grab his keys and check if Bofur was still in front of the building, he sometimes did that, when he noticed an envelope pinned to the door. There was a note and… a key?

_ See you soon _ -Thorin

He was going to kill him!

XoXoX

Bilbo let himself into Thorin’s apartment. Despite it being two in the morning, Thorin was still up and reading a book on the couch. There were a bunch of boxes placed near the dinner table. They were all labelled and clearly filled with Bilbo’s things.

‘What do you think you’re doing?’ Bilbo questioned.

‘Oh, your lease was going to end soon, so I wanted to surprise you,’ Thorin simply answered. As if it was nothing.

‘How would you even know that?’ Bilbo asked. It was true. Bilbo had gotten an email about it. He either had to move to an apartment for one person or be assigned a new roommate since it was a two-bedroom apartment and Ori didn't live there anymore. 

‘Ori got a call from the university. Dwalin told me.’ Thorin pulled Bilbo into his lap.

‘You can’t decide something like this for me,’ Bilbo said angrily. Thorin started kissing his neck softly, but Bilbo wouldn’t let Thorin get away with it so easily. ‘This is about the same level as paying my debts.’ Bilbo thought this may bother Thorin if he said that.

‘No, it’s not.’ Thorin said between kisses. ‘I wanted to surprise… What was the term you used again? Boyfriend?’ Bilbo blushed. ‘I wanted to surprise my boyfriend.’ Thorin continued to kiss Bilbo's neck softly. Bilbo really did like this soft and sweet side of Thorin.

‘You cannot make this decision for me, Thorin. That’s not how this works.’

‘I’m not going to apologize for this, love,’ Thorin started. ‘It made sense.’

Bilbo couldn’t really argue with him. It was true.

‘It’s too soon.’

‘We will make it work.’

‘Thorin, you’re a real adult,’ Bilbo started, it made Thorin laugh immediately. ‘I’m not going to be some housewife who makes dinner when you get home. I’m still enrolled at the university for at least another year. Are you sure this is what you want?’

Thorin smiled and it melted Bilbo to his core. ‘I’m sure, Bilbo.’

XoXoX 

Living together with Thorin was a challenge. Bilbo learned very quickly there was a difference between work-Thorin and home-Thorin.

Work-Thorin was serious, distant, and cold. He even was a bit scary. Bilbo didn’t really like work-Thorin, who he had started thinking of as ‘Mister Durin’. He’d mistakenly called Thorin that out loud once and it’d led to the craziest kitchen sex.

Home-Thorin was warm and affectionate and sweet. He liked to have Bilbo close, he liked to cuddle on the couch, he really liked Bilbo’s cooking. And the sex. Oh god, Bilbo had tried to describe it to Ori, but he failed miserably.

The things that work-Thorin and home-Thorin had in common were the possessiveness, the jealousy, the roughness. It drove Bilbo crazy, but he loved it. Oh god, he loved it so much.

They had their differences, which was normal, but most of it was about Thorin’s work. Thorin had come home one evening with tiny blood splatters on his sleeves. Bilbo wanted to know what happened and Thorin didn’t tell him. It was a big fight.

‘What do you want to hear, Bilbo? That I beat up some guy?’ Thorin had yelled.

‘Was that what happened? You beat someone up?’ Bilbo had yelled back.

After ignoring each other for about two hours, Thorin had told him he had, indeed, beat a guy up. He had been caught selling drugs in the club. It wasn’t the first time they had caught him, but he never learned his lesson. Thorin suspected he was one of Smaug’s minions.

‘So that’s your solution? You beat everyone up who sells drugs at the club?’ Bilbo was still angry. 

‘They don’t learn, love. We warn them and offer to help them, but if they keep coming back and selling then I can’t help them anymore.’ Thorin tried to keep calm, but he had never had to explain himself to anyone.

‘How do you help them?’

‘Most of the sellers are also junkies,’ Thorin said after a moment, calming down. His tone a bit softer. ‘I offer to pay for rehab and to get them a job. Not in the clubs, but at stores, offices,… somewhere they can start over. Balin checks up on them occasionally. A few fall back, but most of them really build up a life.’

And that was how Bilbo learned that even work-Thorin had a softer side.

XoXoX

Bilbo had finished his last exam early. It was difficult, but he was sure he was going to pass. Ori, on the other hand, feared he was going to fail most of his exams. He blamed Dwalin for being such a distraction.

Thorin had been a real gentleman. He liked being close to Bilbo, so most of the last weeks they had cuddled on the couch while Bilbo studied and Thorin read. Bilbo was surprised at how much Thorin loved to read and they often discusses different books and their opinions of them.

Bilbo was making a cup of tea when he heard the front door open. Thorin was early. He was never home before six except for the nights he stayed at the club. He also started to spend some time at the casino, but Bilbo didn’t know a lot about that. Thorin didn't really talk about the casino and Bilbo never really asked.

Bilbo looked up expecting to see Thorin coming towards him, but instead there was the most beautiful woman. She looked a lot like Thorin: sharp features, long and thick black hair, though her eyes were dark and striking. Bilbo felt immediately intimidated. 

This was a powerful woman who was shooting daggers through her eyes. 

Bilbo suspected this was Thorin’s sister, Dís.

‘Who the hell are you?’

XoXoX

After explaining who he was and that he lived with Thorin, Dís calmed down and started questioning Bilbo. How old is he? What does he do? How did he meet Thorin?

Despite his fears and first impressions, Bilbo found that Dís was actually really sweet.

‘I’m sorry, Bilbo,’ she said. ‘Thorin… Well, Thorin usually doesn’t have… relationships. And he apparently never tells anyone anything. So how long have you two been together?’

‘About two months,’ Bilbo answered. He felt a bit as if he was being interrogated, but he really wanted Dís to like him.

‘And how long have you been living here?’ taking a sip of the tea Bilbo had made her eventually.

Dís was so elegant, almost feline.

‘About a month and a half.’ He instantly realized how that sounded. Luckily, before Dís could say anything else, he heard the door open, Thorin’s voice, and children's laughter?

‘Dís, you cannot leave the toddlers in the lobby with Nori. That’s not the man’s job,’ Thorin said while walking into the apartment. He came into view with a brunette toddler on his hip and a slightly older blonde child holding his hand. Thorin looked shocked seeing Bilbo.

‘Bilbo, you’re home early.’ His eyes wandered towards Dís, who had the evilest little sister smile on her face. ‘And you met Dís.’

‘Mommy!’ the brunette toddler shouted and wiggled himself out of Thorin’s arms. The blonde one stayed near Thorin, eyeing Bilbo suspiciously. Dís pulled the toddler on her lap.

‘Fíli, Kíli, say ‘hi’ to Bilbo. He’s Uncle Thorin’s boyfriend.’ She said the last word with a smug grin towards Thorin. Thorin wasn’t happy. He didn’t mind Bilbo calling him his boyfriend, but he preferred the term ‘partner.’ He felt a bit too old to be called ‘boyfriend,’ but he found it cute when Bilbo said it.

‘Hi, Bilbo. I’m Kíli. Are you also our uncle?’ Kíli asked. Bilbo wasn’t ready for a question of that degree from a four-year old.

Bilbo looked at Thorin for help.

‘Dís, what are you doing here?’ Thorin walked towards Bilbo and stood behind him, placing his hands on Bilbo’s shoulders and squeezing them lightly.

‘Well, Balin asked me if I could bring you something, but then I met your boyfriend.’ Again, she almost purred the word. ‘And that is a lot more interesting than a file.’

‘So, you forgot your children in the lobby?’ Thorin shot back.

‘Oohhh, they were fine! Nori loves them.’ Dís laughed but pulled a file out of her bag and gave it to Thorin. ‘Come on, boys. We’re leaving. Say goodbye to Uncle Thorin and Uncle Bilbo.’ Kíli jumped from Dís’s lap and leapt at Bilbo to hug him goodbye. Thorin plucked the little one off the ground and hugged him. Fíli was a bit shy, muttering a soft ‘bye’ and running to the front door.

‘Bilbo, it was lovely to meet you.’ She kissed Bilbo on the cheek and smiled at him. ‘Let’s go for lunch sometime.’

‘I’ll walk you to the elevator, Dís,’ Thorin said gloomily and pulled his sister away from his Bilbo.

‘He’s cute.’ Dís smiled while they waited for the elevator. ‘A bit young.' 

Thorin didn’t answer.

'I never thought of you as a sugar-daddy.’

'I'm not a sugar-daddy, Dis.'

Dis just smiled sweetly, but it was a smile Thorin knew very well.

‘So, does he know what you do?’

Thorin nodded.

'And he's okay with it?'

Thorin didn't answer. He wasn't completely sure that Bilbo knew the very 100% of what he did, but for know he knew enough.

‘How did you two meet?’

The elevator pinged and as soon as the doors opened, Thorin pushed her inside. Fíli and Kíli followed their mom like the good boys they were.

‘Why didn’t you tell me?’

‘Goodbye, Dís.’ The doors were closing.

‘We’ll have lunch soon,’ he could hear Dís yell at his already-turned back.

First, he wanted to calm down before he went inside. He had planned to keep Bilbo as far away from his sister as possible, at least for a while more. Dís was nosy and annoying and he… he didn’t want to share Bilbo with her.

Thorin took a deep breath in. ‘Fuck.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think of this chapter. Your comments really make my day. It really is a lot of fun to read :)


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys,
> 
> I'm sorry it took me so long to upload this chapter. A lot has been happening in my personal life which really put me down and I wasn't in the right headspace to think about the story. I'm not really feeling this chapter any more. Might be because I'm still not fully focussed, because I know I did like writing this chapter. It might be a while before I upload another chapter, but the moment I'm feeling better, I will try to upload a new chapter every week or every two weeks.
> 
> It's a tiny chapter with smut. Longer chapters will follow.
> 
> Another thank you to my wonderful beta-reader :)  
> [Beta](http://archiveofourown.org/users/raewise)

It had taken Balin much longer than he had wanted to figure out what Smaug’s angle was, but it appeared that Smaug had left town for the time being. Though there was no doubt in his mind he would return. 

Balin hadn’t been with Thorin and the others when they went to retrieve Bilbo from the warehouse, saying he was too old for that kind of action, but he knew from the others that they had done quite some damage. Thorin had shot Azog multiple times. One would hope that he would succumb to his injuries, but they all knew they were never allowed to assume something until they had seen it with their own eyes.

Balin had put everything he could find in a file. Dís had stopped by the club to pick it up.

‘Dís, have you heard anything from Thorin lately?’ Balin asked, knowing very well Thorin hadn’t told his sister about Bilbo. 

Bilbo had gotten to know a few of the members of the company, but Thorin was… protective. Gloín and Bofur still took shifts guarding Bilbo, even after he’d moved in with Thorin. Balin had laughed so hard he almost had tears in his eyes when he found out Bilbo had persuaded them to drive him everywhere.  _ ‘If they’re going to follow me around anyways, they can at least have the decency to drive me,’ _ had been his reasoning.

Sneaky little guy.

‘Oh, you know how he is, Balin,’ Dís answered with a sigh. ‘Unless it’s an emergency, I don’t hear from him unless I go and annoy him. We called a few times, but he appears to be very busy lately.’ 

Fíli and Kíli were coloring on the floor. They were good lads and were basically growing up in the club after Víli had died. They even had their own playroom in one of the back rooms of the club; it was small, but perfect for a four and six year old. Dís hadn’t even known she was pregnant at the time when Víli passed, but Dís dealt with it like she dealt with all the problems in her life: like a boss. She had a whole company to back her up. Thorin helped her in any way he could and was more of a father to the lads than an uncle, but he was a stubborn bastard and Balin knew he was hiding Bilbo from Dís.

Balin was a bit impressed with how well Thorin had managed to hide Bilbo from Dís. Dís was a force of a woman and usually knew everything. Balin didn’t really know how Dís would react about Bilbo, but he did look forward to it. The company had placed a bet on how long Thorin could hide the blossoming relationship from Dís and Balin was running out of time, in all honesty. This wasn’t cheating, he told himself. He was just pushing it a bit more into his favour.

‘I think Thorin is already home,’ Balin said.

XoXoX

Dís had left her children with Noor the doorman. Fíli and Kíli adored him because he always had candy at his desk for them, so they wanted to stay with him and play around in the lobby a bit. Thorin didn’t like when Dís left them with Noor, always saying that it wasn’t Noor’s job to babysit the children, even if he knew that Noor loved it. He had lost his wife years ago and never had any children of his own.

When Dís opened the door to Thorin’s apartment, she had never expected to find some curly-haired kid in the kitchen. But by god, did she love it when Bilbo explained who he was. She was going to have a field day pestering Thorin about this.

Oh, she couldn’t  _ wait _ to tell Frerin about the cute little student that had captured Thorin’s attention.

This would be so much fun.

She silently rejoiced at Thorin’s annoyance upon finding his sister and lover sipping tea together and getting to know each other. Well, she was mostly getting to know Bilbo. If everything went well, Bilbo would have more than enough opportunities to get to know her, the children, and Frerin when he came back to town.

She loved her brother, but she was going to enjoy this.

XoXoX

‘Why is this the first time I’ve met your sister?’ Bilbo asked when Thorin came back. 

Thorin threw his coat on the back of the couch and took Bilbo into his arms.

‘Why have I never met any of your family?’ Thorin countered.

‘Because my parents are dead and I don’t like the rest of my extended family,’ Bilbo said truthfully. ‘You’ve met  _ Ori _ and he’s like family to me.’

Thorin knew he couldn’t use another excuse or distraction. ‘She’s annoying.’

‘What about Frerin?’

‘He’s even more annoying.’

‘Any more family members that you find annoying?’ Bilbo asked.

‘One,’ Thorin said without thinking before picking up Bilbo. His boyfriend instinctively wrapped his legs around his lover’s waist. ‘But you are never meeting him.’

The kiss was hot and passionate and before Bilbo knew it he was on the bed with the most beautiful man he’d ever met kissing his neck and taking off his clothes.

‘How was your exam?’ Thorin whispered between kisses as he was already preparing Bilbo for himself. It was a sight to behold: Bilbo moaning and whimpering on the couch with Thorin’s fingers inside of him. The sun was already setting and the last light of the sun made Bilbo’s eyes look like golden honey.

_ So beautiful, _ Thorin thought.

‘Oh god…’ Bilbo panted when Thorin hit that bundle of nerves. ‘You want to talk about that  _ now?’ _

‘Yes.’ Another finger, making Bilbo cry out in pleasure. Thorin knew this exam had been the hardest and that Bilbo had been stressed about it. If Bilbo failed these exams, he wouldn’t be able to graduate next year. Thorin wanted to show Bilbo he was an attentive ‘boyfriend’ (he hated that word). 

‘It went well,’ Bilbo breathed. He tried to concentrate on the question, but it was difficult. It was all he could do to cling onto Thorin’s broad shoulders. Thorin loved it. ‘I was able to… to speak to my professor and…’ Thorin started to move his fingers even faster and deeper.

‘And what?’

‘With my other scores… and clinic work… he thinks--ah… he thinks…’ It was so difficult to concentrate. Thorin pulled his fingers out of Bilbo and pulled him into his lap. He gripped his hips and began to slide inside. 

Bilbo barely registered the feeling of Thorin’s cock against his hole. It gave Bilbo the time to finish his sentence. ‘… I could graduate early.’

Thorin smiled so brightly and lovingly. ‘I’m so proud of you.’

Bilbo’s heart burst. No one had ever told him that. He kissed Thorin, running his hands through long hair and pulling it hard when Thorin pushed him down on his cock. Bilbo focused on the pleasure and the way Thorin looked at him.

Bilbo didn’t take long to come, already being so close when it was just Thorin’s fingers. When Bilbo came, Thorin knew he would follow soon. His little lover was so tight, and the orgasm only made him tighter. Thorin came with a muffled cry as he bit down hard on the space between Bilbo’s neck and shoulder, as if he was marking him.

Bilbo didn’t even try to move from Thorin’s lap and Thorin didn’t want him to. Bilbo hid his face in Thorin’s neck, ignoring the stickiness between them. He felt so safe in those strong arms, so loved. He wanted to tell Thorin that, but he didn’t.

XoXoX

Thorin sat in his home office. He wasn’t able to sleep. He was still worried about Smaug and him taking Bilbo away from him. He remembered the file Dís had dropped off and had decided to spend his time in a better way than just laying in bed. 

Balin had done an excellent job, even if it had taken a while to find out what it was that Smaug so desperately wanted. Balin had eventually found one of Smaug’s rats hanging around the club, which meant two things: 1) Smaug was keeping an eye on them. 2) He was going to come back.

It made Thorin wonder if he should increase the security around Bilbo.

Thorin went through the rest of the file. People who worked for Smaug, documents about property that might be owned by Smaug, possible hideouts…

All the evidence pointed to one conclusion and Thorin didn’t like where this was going.

Smaug wanted the deed to the casino.

Smaug wanted Erebor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really liked all your comments. It was really nice to read.  
> Let me know what you think of this chapter


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!  
> Look at that: a new chapter. Who would have thought?  
> Thank you for the comments on the last chapter. It was really nice of all of you.  
> This chapter is a little bit darker and has a lot of trigger warnings. Please read those first in the end notes.
> 
> Let me know what you think of this chapter :) your comments really make my day and motivate me to write.  
> I didn't write for a while and the comments on the last chapter really did it for me to write again. Thank you for that.
> 
> Special thanks to my lovely beta-reader :)  
> [Beta](http://archiveofourown.org/users/raewise)
> 
> Please check bottom notes for trigger warnings

**Chapter 14**

Thorin had wanted to take a small break with Bilbo away from the city. Somewhere with white beaches and the bluest waters. He wanted to spoil his little student with the finest foods and wines, make love to him all day, have him completely for himself.

But no, Thorin had to stay in the city and clean up the mess with Smaug. He would never allow that man to own Erebor. The casino had been in their family for generations. It was the heart of the entire Durin corporation. If he lost the casino, the club would follow soon and everything else Thorin had built would crumble. Not only that, but so many people depended on him. He gave them jobs, a possibility for a future.

Bilbo hadn’t asked anything about Smaug since he had stayed his first night at Thorin’s apartment. Thorin suspected that Bilbo didn’t want to relive the memories and he would respect that, but he also felt like this was something Bilbo should know.

Dís had to work and her usual babysitter wasn’t available, so she had dumped Fíli and Kíli with Thorin and Bilbo. Kíli had been crying all day while Thorin tried to figure out what was wrong. Dís told them he had been like that all morning and couldn’t figure it out either, but she had to go to work. Kíli was crying so hard that not even his favorite uncle Thorin could calm him down. 

Bilbo didn’t know what to do, he didn’t have much experience with small children, but Fíli was a godsend. The blonde had approached him with a stuffed animal.

‘You help animals, right?’ Fíli had asked. ‘Can you help Pip?’

Pip turned out to be Kíli’s favourite stuffed animal. It was a weird floppy and ugly thing that Frerin had given him, but Kíli absolutely loved it. Truly, it was the ugliest thing Thorin had ever seen. So, when the fabric had started to rip, Kíli had been in a state. But it did help Bilbo to immediately calm Kíli down.

Kíli and Fíli were sitting at the kitchen island watching Bilbo intensely as he started to sew Pip back up. He even made a little show of it, using latex gloves and a mouth mask. He made Kíli and Fili wear some too. Thorin was watching contentedly from the large balcony, smoking a cigarette.

God, how hard had he fallen for the young man. He had so easily accepted that Thorin was basically a father for his two nephews, that he not only came with the burden of a large company, but also with two small children.

Thorin loved Bilbo. He really did, but he hadn’t found the words to express that love to him yet. He showed Bilbo he loved him by doing things: he'd given Bilbo a room in the apartment next to his home office. It was previously used as storage, but Thorin had it cleared out and turned it into an office and library for Bilbo. He wanted him to have a space that was just for him. The biggest surprise for Bilbo had been seeing his favourite chair from his mother. Thorin had, during the move, given it to Bofur who was an incredible woodworker and he had a friend who was a wizard with fabrics. He had completely fixed the chair so it was as good as new.

It also was now Thorin's favourite chair since he had gotten the best blowjob had ever had in said chair by a very grateful Bilbo.

‘Uncle Thorin!’ Kíli yelled, pulling Thorin out of the fond memory. The tiny brunette was running as fast as he could to his uncle, who scooped him up from the floor, but not before quickly flicking the cigarette in a small bin.

‘Uncle Bilbo saved Pip!’ Kíli yelled, holding the ugly stuffed animal in front of Thorin’s face. Pip was indeed saved. Bilbo had even put a tiny bandage on the freshly sewn fabric.

It didn’t take long before Fíli and Kíli fell asleep on the couch.

Bilbo and Thorin were sitting on one of the lounge chairs on the balcony, cuddling and enjoying the warm sun. It was the first day they had together since the summer had started.

‘Tell me about Smaug,’ Bilbo said softly.

‘What do you want to know?’ Thorin wasn’t really comfortable with the topic, but this would be a great way to tell Bilbo about the casino.

‘Everything.’

Thorin pulled Bilbo closer in his embrace. 

‘Smaug worked for my grandfather.’ He had barely made up his mind to tell him everything when it started to pour out of him. Smaug and Thorin had met each other through Thorin’s grandfather. Thorin must have been nineteen or so at the time. Smaug was hired as an advisor for Thrór and was… charming. He had a certain way around people that made him easy likeable. Thorin never really trusted him. Turned out, Smaug was slowly poisoning Thrór, and manipulating his weakened mind so he would sign the company over to him. Thorin found out about it and the aftermath was a disaster. So many had been hurt or killed. Thrór had gotten mad from the poison and was killed by Azog, Smaug's right-hand man. They both disappeared and Thraín had gone after them. He never returned. Thorin and Dís had accepted the fact that Thraín had possibly died, but Frerin couldn’t. So he spent his life trying to find his father.

‘I don’t really think he's trying to find our father,’ Thorin whispered. ‘For him, traveling is his way out of the family business. I don’t blame him.’

‘You were so young.’ Bilbo couldn’t imagine going through something like that.

Thorin had taken over the family business and had expanded it. He tried to do more good than his grandfather or father had. He was unable to break free from the underground part of the business, but he tried to use it to help people.

‘Bilbo, Balin found out why Smaug took you.’ He felt the small frame stiffen up. ‘He wanted to use you as leverage to get the deed to the casino.’

‘Why would he want that?’ Bilbo eventually asked, biting his lip. He still remembered how Smaug had touched him, what his intentions had been, he could still feel the ghost of pain in his wrist.

‘Erebor is the heart.’ It was all Thorin needed to say.

XoXoX

Thorin had increased the security at the casino and club, since those were the places Smaug would likely try something. Thorin knew Smaug wouldn’t attempt anything at his apartment. He wasn’t that stupid and even if he made a move, it was a private building with limited residents.

Gloín and Bofur were still acting as Bilbo’s security and personal drivers. (Bilbo had baked fresh cookies as a thank you for the two. Thorin wasn’t allowed to have one.)

Dwalin even had two guys who worked in shifts to keep an eye on Ori--just to be sure. Dwalin however had made the mistake that he hadn’t told this to the artist. Ori had come home furious and completely freaked out. Dwalin had never been yelled at that intensely. In the end, Ori had stormed off and forced one of his bodyguards to drive him to Bilbo, who was working at the bookshop.

‘It drives me crazy!’ Ori cried out as he entered the shop. Bilbo looked up from the register. It had been a slow day, so he was just reading. He jumped at Ori's abrupt entrance and spilled some tea over his book.

‘Oh god, Ori!’ Bilbo cried and started to wipe it up with his handkerchief. Clearly he was buying that book now. It wasn’t even that good of a story. ‘What is wrong with you?’

‘Dwalin has some of his goons following me!’ Ori yelled. If there had been any customers, this wouldn’t have led to a great review. But Bilbo understood Ori. His oldest brother had always been overly protective of him, a bit too protective. It wasn't that Dori didn’t trust Ori, he just didn’t trust anyone else. It was the reason Ori had left home. He still saw and loved his big brother, he just didn’t want to live with him anymore.

‘He means well, Ori,’ Bilbo tried.

‘I don’t care, Bilbo. I’m being smothered! I can’t breathe when they follow me!’ Ori was crying now. Dori had done a lot of damage with his overprotective parenting, but Bilbo was sure it was mostly because he had no idea how to be a parent for his little brother. Their mother had just left them one day, too lost in her addiction to take care of her three children. Nori wasn’t a great example, always getting in trouble and stealing despite being a really great guy. Dori had done everything he had to do to take care of his family and it had driven Ori away.

Bilbo was hugging his friend now. ‘It’s going to be okay,’ he whispered, waiting for Ori to calm down. It didn’t take that long.

‘What if I close up and we go for a drink?’ Bilbo offered. ‘I know a really nice club.’

XoXoX

Thorin’s club  _ was _ really nice actually. Bilbo had been there a few times in the last weeks. Everyone was really nice, the music was great for dancing, the drinks were good, and Bilbo didn’t have to pay because he’s dating the boss. Perks. He insisted on tipping them, however.

Thorin was still working upstairs, but he was going to join them later. Dwalin was also at the club, but he knew Ori was angry at him, so he took his sweet time to come and apologize. 

It had been ages since they had gone out to dance. They were always so busy with work and school, but now they had the summer and they could breathe and have fun.

They were dancing and drinking, singing along with the songs. At one moment Bilbo spotted Thorin watching him and gave him a small wave. Thorin smiled and winked at him. He clearly was just checking in to see if his partner was enjoying himself. Dwalin stood beside him, staring at Ori who had just turned his back at the larger men.

‘Ori, that’s childish.’ Bilbo almost had to yell for Ori to hear him.

‘Let him sweat, Bil.’ Ori laughed. ‘He deserves it.’

Bilbo just laughed and shook his head. ‘I’m getting another drink. You want anything?’

Ori shook his head and kept dancing as Bilbo made it to the bar. The music was quieter here, so it was easier to talk to each other and the bartender didn’t have to yell their throats sore because they couldn’t understand the clientele. It was so crowded tonight. The bartender gave Bilbo his usual order and Bilbo liked the fact that he had a place where the bartender knew he had a usual.

‘I know you from somewhere.’ He heard a voice next to him. Bilbo looked at the man. Middle aged, handsome, tall. ‘I’m Baz.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Bilbo said. ‘Doesn’t ring a bell.’

‘You come here often?’ Okay, clearly flirting. Bilbo was uncomfortable with someone flirting with him in the bar that was owned by his boyfriend. Not that the guy may know that. Bilbo and Thorin didn't hide their relationship, but they weren't yelling it from the roof either. Bilbo looked around and saw Thorin talking to the bouncer. He turned back around and took his drink from the bar.

‘Yes, but I have to go back to my friend.’

‘Okay, maybe I’ll see you soon?’ Baz tried, looking very confident.

‘I doubt it,’ Bilbo said and walked towards Ori, who was still dancing. Bilbo didn’t see Thorin or Dwalin anywhere, so he guessed they went back to work. He hoped Thorin would be done soon. He would like to dance with him. They’d never done that, mostly because Bilbo would never dance if he was sober.

Two drinks later, Bilbo wasn’t feeling so well. He was hot and sweaty. His head started to spin a little. He guessed it was from all the alcohol, the crowd he was still dancing in, and the fact that it was so incredibly warm everywhere.

‘I’m going outside for some fresh air,’ Bilbo yelled at Ori.

‘Want me to go with you?’ Ori yelled back. Bilbo nodded. They made their way out of the dance floor and out of the bar.

‘Ori! Can we talk, please?’ It was Dwalin. Ori looked at Bilbo, who felt like he was getting hotter and hotter at the minute.

‘It’s fine.’ Bilbo forced himself to smile. He felt  _ so weird. _ ‘I'll just be a minute.’

Ori would have stayed with his friend if it was any other night. If he had not had so much to drink.

The cool air hit Bilbo like a slap in the face. It only made him feel worse.

‘You okay, Mr. Baggins?’ one of the bouncers asked, the one who he had seen talking to Thorin earlier. 

‘Yes, just drank too much.’ Bilbo smiled. ‘Just need a bit of fresh air.’

Bilbo knew Bofur had parked the car a few hundred meters from the club and was waiting for him if he had wanted to go home earlier than Thorin. If he could just get to the car. Bilbo hardly registered when someone grabbed his arm, pulling him into a small alley into a waiting car. Bilbo didn’t have the energy to fight or scream or do anything.

He noticed it was one of those fancy cars where you could sit and face each other. There was already a figure sitting there, watching him. Smiling. Bilbo didn’t like it.

‘Missed me?’ Smaug purred.

A sharp jolt of panic raced up his spine. This couldn’t be happening. Thorin had told him so many times to be careful, to watch his surroundings, to watch… his drinks.

‘You… drugged me,’ he muttered, feeling like he had to throw up. The car started moving, only making the feeling worse.

‘Well, technically Baz did.’ Smaug smiled. ‘How have you been, Bilbo dear?

Don’t answer that.

‘Do you enjoy living with Durin?’

Don’t answer that.

‘Does he please you sexually?’

_ Definitely _ don’t answer that.

‘Or do you think about  _ me _ when he touches you.’

That actually made Bilbo laugh out loud. ‘I never… think of you.’ It took Bilbo so much willpower not to vomit. He looked out of the window only to regret it immediately. The world was going so much faster than it was allowed to.

‘Sir, we are at the warehouse,’ the driver said and the car stopped.

‘The warehouse?’ Bilbo mumbled.

‘Just picking up some supplies, my dear,’ Smaug purred and got out of the car. ‘Watch him, Kal.’ He snapped at the driver, who nodded.

Bilbo watched Smaug. It was not the same warehouse as the last time. He glanced over at the driver who… was snorting white powder from his dashboard? Kal looked twitchy.

His phone. Where was his phone? Bilbo groaned. His phone was in his coat. In Thorin’s office. He’d left it there since he didn’t need it in the club. Thorin was going to be so mad about that.

Someone knocked on the window of the drivers side. Scaring Bilbo with the sudden sound. Kal got out and Bilbo heard them talking. Looking out of the window again, he saw Kal snort even more white powder. How was that man still standing? They seemed so distracted, so into their drugs... Bilbo knew this was his chance. There was a patch of thick trees not far from where they were, and Bilbo was willing to bet they led into the woods.

His body could still move, he just had to be quick and quiet. It was his mind that was still spinning and foggy.

Bilbo took a few deep breaths and slowly unlocked the car door and pushed it open without making a sound. Kal and his drug buddy had turned their back towards the car.

_ Now! _

Bilbo ran. He ran as fast as possible. He felt so sick, but he had to keep running. Bilbo didn’t know where he was going, he just kept running into the patch of trees that turned out to be a forest. He could hear yelling and screaming and a gunshot. That last sound only made him run faster. He had started crying. His entire body hurt so much.

The forest was dense and dark and difficult to run through. He fell often, but had no other option than to get back up and keep running. Bilbo still felt sick and the running didn’t help. He had to stop for a second, just a second. Bilbo fell to his knees and gasped for air. He felt so light and his head was spinning. He could hear voices and movement around him. He was going to be captured again and he would… 

Was that a fence?

Bilbo got up and stumbled over to it. It was a large fence made of thick steel bars. He would never be able to climb over it, it would even be difficult for Smaug’s men to get over it, but if he did his best he would be able to squeeze between the space of the bars. Behind the fence there was more forest and he didn’t know if it belonged to someone but at least it was away from Smaug. He was lucky he was so small, but it still squeezed him painfully and he had to hurry up. He could hear the voices get closer.

Just a little bit more. His chest hurt, but he got through and ran! He ran until he could no longer hear the yelling. He tripped and fell hard, crying out in pain. If he hadn’t broken anything before, he sure had now.

He couldn’t... he couldn’t get up, he couldn’t breathe, he just wasn’t able to do anything even as he heard footsteps approach.

The last thing Bilbo saw before he passed out was long, white hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tw: nonconsensual drugging, use of date rape drugs, unwanted sexual conversations, recreational drug use


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!
> 
> it's been soooo long and I'm really sorry about that. I never meant to leave the story, but I was working 7 days a week suddenly with no time for myself or the people around. I got sick (no covid), but my doctor did say I had to take it easy for a bit. 
> 
> I sadly have no beta reader any more. My beta was great, but duo personal reasons she decided she won't be reading for me any more. I am really thankful for all her help. If there are mistakes in the chapter, they are all mine.

**Chapter 15**

It took Bilbo a few minutes to realize he was not in bed with Thorin or that he even was in his own bed. He sat up and regretted it immediately. Luckily, he spotted a trash bin in the corner of the room. Bilbo always felt so filthy when he had to vomit. The alcohol, the food, the drugs from the night before. He vomited it all out.

The door opened, but Bilbo hardly had the energy to look up and see who entered. His body hurt so much. Bilbo had been surprised he actually had been able to get to the trash bin.

‘You are Bilbo Baggins.’

Bilbo looked up.

Legolas?

No, it wasn’t Legolas, but the man looked so much like Legolas. For a moment he wondered how Legolas was doing. After the exams, he had hardly heard anything from him.

‘Help him clean up and bring him to me.’ The blond man was replaced by two other people. Bilbo hardly registered what was happening. He was moved to another room, he was stripped naked and washed, fresh clothing and put in a room with a lot of sunlight. Bilbo barely registered it thzt he had been in a room, naked, with other people in the room. It was slowly sinking it was had happened, but there was hardly anything he could do about it now. His chest still hurt and his body still felt as if it was on fire.

‘I don’t like strangers on my property.’ It was the blond man. ‘The Mirkwood forest isn’t for anyone to enjoy.’

Bilbo took a deep breath. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t meant to…’

‘Yes, I’ve heard it all before.’

‘Who are you?’ Bilbo asked. Had he gone from one bad situation to another? He needed to find out.

‘Oh, where are my manners?’ sarcasm. ‘My name is Thranduil Greenwood. How are you feeling?’

‘I don’t know.’ It all still hurt.

‘You were clearly intoxicated. Are you a junky, mister Baggins?’

‘No, sir. I was drugged.’

‘Why?’

Bilbo didn’t answer. Could he trust Thranduil? He didn’t know who he was, what he wanted. Even if Bilbo told him the truth, would he even know who Smaug is? Bilbo’s head hurt so much. His eyes scanned the room. Searching for anything he could use if he had to defend himself. But who was he kidding? He could barely walk.

‘You are a wanted man, mister Baggins.’

Thranduil sat down on the couch in front of Bilbo. He moved so elegant. This truly was someone you could call beautiful. Sharp features, long white-blond hair, attention grabbing good looks, but cold grey eyes.

‘Give me one reason why I should not hand you over to Smaug.’

Bilbo flinched at hearing that name. Could he give this man a reason? He knew Smaug, does he also know Thorin? What would happen to him? Bilbo looked at Thranduil and then it hit him. The sharp features, the long white-blond hair. He noticed a picture of a child behind Thranduil and it confirmed what he suspected.

‘You’re Legolas’ father.’

That actually made Thranduil speechless.

‘You know Legolas?’

Bilbo nodded. ‘We attend the same university. We’re friends.’ He suddenly wasn’t sure this was going to help him

Thranduil stared at him, clearly contemplating his options.

‘Stefa, call Thorin Durin. Tell him we have something that belongs to him.’ He never took his eyes of Bilbo. ‘Tell me about my son.’

Bilbo suspected Legolas wouldn’t appreciate Bilbo talking to his father, but it was the only way Bilbo could think of to buy time until Thorin arrived.

XoXoX

It took Thorin two hours to get to Thranduil’s property. In that time, Bilbo had gotten sick three more times and that was more than enough for Thranduil to leave Bilbo alone and let him rest. Bilbo could hear Thorin’s voice travel through the house. He was talking to Thranduil, but it took him another two hours before he actually went to get Bilbo.

It wasn’t 'home Thorin', neither was it 'work Thorin'. This was a different Thorin, one he had never met before. It scared him.

‘Get up.’ His voice was icy cold. ‘We’re leaving.’ He left the room just as quickly as he had entered it. By the time Bilbo had found the energy to get up and follow Stefa to the front door where Thranduil and Thorin were waiting for him.

‘It was nice meeting you, mister Baggins.’ Thranduil stated. ‘Hopefully, next time will be in different circumstances.’ He focused his attention back on Thorin.

‘Thorin. It was pleasure doing business with you.’

They shook hands

‘Thranduil.’

Thorin walked out of the door. Bofur opened the door to the backseat for Thorin and Bilbo. Thorin said something to Bofur who nodded. He barely dared to look at Bilbo.

Bilbo was scared.

Once all in the car, Bofur pushed a button on the dashboard. A black non see through window appeared and split the car in two. The front with Bofur driving, and the back with Thorin and Bilbo. They drove off.

Bilbo glanced at Thorin. The older male was looking through the window. After half an hour of silence, Bilbo gave up and did the same thing Thorin was doing. Watch the world pass by.

Bilbo didn’t know what to think. Thorin didn’t talk to him, didn’t touch him, he barely acknowledged him. His head still hurt, so did his body. It hurt to breath. But Bilbo didn’t know if it was because of the physical hurt or the fact that Thorin was mad at him.

It was both.

XoXoX

Oin was waiting for them in the apartment. He asked Bilbo some questions and did a physical check-up. His ribs were bruised, but not that badly. He would heal soon. The drugs would take another day to get out of his system. Oin took some blood for tests, but he suspected that Bilbo’s drink had been spiked with a combination of drugs. He was told to eat something light and rest.

Thorin walked Oin to the door. Bilbo wondered if Thorin would actually speak to him that day. Thorin returned but walked straight to his office and slammed the door. Bilbo waited for another half hour, eventually he gave up. He went to bed. Taking of the clothes Stefa had put him in and putting on one of Thorin’s t-shirts. He pulled the sheets up to his chin, curled up in a small ball.

He tried to stay awake for another hour, but Thorin never came to him.

He cried himself to sleep.

XoXoX

It was Ori who eventually woke him up. He was crying, kept muttering how sorry he was, that he should have gone outside with him. Bilbo just wanted to hugged. Ori did hug him, but it wasn’t the same. He wanted Thorin.

‘Where is Thorin?’ Bilbo asked.

‘He’s talking to Dwalin.’ Ori answered. ‘Bilbo, what happened?’

Bilbo didn’t want to tell Ori. He didn’t want to talk about it at all. Where the hell was Thorin?

‘I think you should keep the guards.’ was the only thing he said.

Ori and Dwalin left soon after.

Bilbo and Thorin didn’t speak, sleep or saw each other for another two days. Thorin locked himself up in his office, but he didn’t leave the apartment.

It was near the evening of the third day after Bilbo’s kidnapping, that they finally saw each other. Bilbo sat on the sofa, eating apple slices and reading. The drugs had completely left his system. He was still tired and his ribs still hurt, but he was at least not throwing up any more. Thorin hated it when people ate on his soda. Fili and Kili had once spilled cranberry juice all over it and ever since, no on was allowed to eat on the coach. Bilbo thought this could draw some kind of reaction out of Thorin.

It didn’t. Thorin barely looked at him.

Thorin had planned to make a cup of tea and go back to his office. He didn’t expect to see Bilbo on the sofa… eating fucking apple slices.

‘Thorin…’ Bilbo started, but Thorin didn’t give Bilbo the time to say anything else. He returned to his office.

Bilbo had enough of it. He had understood Thorin’s feelings towards the whole situation, that he may be angry or hurt or what ever, but now it was getting too much. Thorin could not ignore him forever.

Bilbo stormed into Thorin’s office. His eyes already had tears in them. He was so angry.

‘You have no right!’ He yelled. Thorin looked up from his laptop, he already looked so angry again. ‘You have no right to ignore me! What happened is not my fault!’ tears where streaming down his face. ‘None of it and yet you act like I enjoy being taken away.’

‘You think I enjoy this?’ Thorin’s voice sounded like thunder. He stood up and marched over to Bilbo until they stood right in front of each other. It was the closest they had been since Bilbo being taken by Smaug. Bilbo took a step back, he was trapped between the wall and and very angry Thorin. ‘I give you guards, you turn them into your drivers. I tell you to always keep your phone on you, you leave it in my office. I tell you the fucking standard rule of clubbing and that is to always, ALWAYS, watch your drink.’

‘So I’m not allowed to make friends? I’m not allowed to forget something? I’m not allowed to get distracted for a second?’ Bilbo snapped back.

‘Why did you get distracted, Bilbo?’ Thorin was now standing so close to Bilbo, that the younger man could feel the warmth radiating from Thorins body.

A bit taken back. ‘Some guy started flirting with me.’ Bilbo knew this would bring up the jealous side of Thorin. It would only make this fight worse.

‘You are reckless, Bilbo!' Thorin shouted. 'You bring yourself constantly into danger. And you expect me to drop everything and swoop in to save you.’

‘How do I bring myself into danger, Thorin?' still crying, but Bilbo tried to match his own volume to that of Thorin. 'Because if I remember correctly it go’s as following. I stitch you up, and I get hurt. I go out with you, I get kidnapped and molested. I move in with you, I get kidnapped again and you have the fucking audacity to blame me?’ Bilbo could feel that this screaming an shouting would damage his voice. It would be difficult to talk the next day. Tears streaming down his face, but he refused to break the eye contact.

Now it was Thorin’s turn to be taken back. He didn’t know what to answer. It was true. Everything that had happened to Bilbo had started since the moment he had stitched him up. It was Thorin’s fault. This is why he didn’t start relationships. His father had lost his mother because of the work he did, Dis lost her husband because of it and if Thorin wasn’t careful, he would lose Bilbo. Was he already losing him?

It took Thorin too long to answer Bilbo. 

‘I can’t…’ Bilbo whispered. ‘Something happens and your reaction is to shut down. You don’t talk to me, you don’t touch me, you basically completely ignore me. You cannot do that to me! Why would you ever think this would help in any way?’ He yelled the last part. Thorin didn't know what to say.

Bilbo stepped away from between the wall and Thorin and turned around to leave Thorin alone, but the yelling and the crying had taken so much energy. Bilbo felt so weak, but it was Thorin who caught him when his knees gave out.

‘Bilbo…’

‘I’m fine, Thorin.’ Bilbo murmured, trying to push Thorin away. It was intoxicating to be this close to Thorin, his heat, his smell.

Thorin didn’t believe him and scooped him up. ‘I’m putting you in bed. You should rest.’ His voice was soft and he did as he said. He tucked Bilbo in as if he was a helpless child.

‘Rest.’ Thorin said and started to leave, but Bilbo gripped his hand.

‘Stay.’

Thorin didn’t know if it was a good idea. Not with the fight they just had.

‘Please.’

He had missed his little lover. He had locked himself up in his office mainly because he was so angry at himself. What Bilbo had said was true. It wasn’t his fault, it was Thorin’s. He should have better security, he should have made time to spent with Bilbo in the club and maybe none of this wouldn't be happening. Maybe they would have been cuddling on the soda 

Thorin took of his clothes and crawled under the sheets. Bilbo stayed where he was. Only their hands were touching softly.

‘Can I hold you?’ Thorin asked.

Bilbo hesitated, but nodded. The moment he was in those strong arms, he stared crying again.

‘You can’t shut me out like that. You can’t.’

‘I know, Bilbo. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I made a mistake. I’m sorry. I was so afraid to lose you. I don't know what I would do if I lost you. I need you. I'm so sorry, love.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think of the chapter. I reread a lot of comments and it really made me happy and motivated to actually post this chapter.
> 
> I really love all your feedback.
> 
> Hopefully I post the next chapter soon


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys,
> 
> so here's the new chapter.  
> I'm slowly finding my place again in this story. Let me know what you think :)
> 
> No beta for this chapter

**Chapter 16**

He had screwed up.

Royally.

Without a doubt.

Thorin’s eyes lingered on Bilbo’s sleeping face. He looked so peaceful. Bilbo hadn’t been sick for much longer after their fight. He was weak and dizzy, mainly because he didn’t want to eat anything since he didn’t want to vomit. It had been ten days since Thorin had picked Bilbo up from Mirkwood and seven since their fight. They hadn’t really talked about what had happened. They slept and ate together. Thorin didn’t lock himself up in his office anymore. He only left the apartment to go to work, but kept his time there short. It was not that they didn’t want to or tried to talk, but every time they had been interrupted. Beorn had needed Bilbo at the clinic, Thorin had problems with the casino, Dis had gotten sick and asked them to babysit Fili and Kili for a few days.

As if fate was telling them not to talk about it

‘Penny for your thoughts?’

Thorin smiled. Bilbo’s awake and so beautiful.

I want to talk about what happened.’ Thorin said softly. Afraid that Bilbo would reject his offer to talk about it.

Bilbo sighed. ‘I got drunk, drugged, kidnapped and escaped.’

‘No, tell me what happened.’

Bilbo took a deep breath and told Thorin everything. How he had felt so warm, the car, Smaug escaped, the spinning, the pain, the running, the panic. Bilbo had been so scared. How he had persuaded Thranduil not to hand him over to Smaug, the rejection and pain he had felt when Thorin picked him up. It wasn’t pleasant to tell Thorin this, but just telling the older man made the heavy feeling Bilbo had been carrying around disappear.

‘Do you think we will go back to how things were between us before Smaug took me?’ Bilbo asked. He had crawled a bit closer to Thorin.

I think it will be difficult,’ Thorin said slowly. ‘and everything will be different, but I don’t want to lose you. You are so strong, Bilbo. So strong and brave.’ He sounded so sure of himself, it made Bilbo cry again. ‘It will be hard and nothing will be like it was before, but if you still want me… than I’ll fight for us, Bilbo.’

**XoXoX**

Bilbo had thought about it for a long time. Did he really want Thorin and the life that came with him? He knew he could never ask Thorin to give it up. It wouldn’t be fair, but was he prepared for that kind of life? The drugs? The guns? The violence? The constant threat?

Could this ever be a normal relationship?

He had been reading on the sofa for over an hour. Well, he hadn’t read a single letter yet. He could watch Thorin in the kitchen from where he sat. Thorin was making a lasagna. He didn’t often cook since he barely had the time for it and only could make about four or five dishes. They weren’t impressive, but he had to learn something to feed to his nephews. They couldn’t have cereal for dinner every time they came over. Dis made sure of that.

How come that this felt so normal? So domesticated? When they both knew that they didn’t have a normal and quiet life.

Bilbo mulled on the idea of a ‘quiet life’, his eyes still lingering on Thorin. He looked so peaceful and content. Could he have a peaceful and quiet life? Could he have that with Bilbo?

Would he want that?

Bilbo tried to imagine Thorin with a ‘normal’ profession. Something like a baker, a teacher, maybe a lawyer, an artist. But it didn’t make any sense. It didn’t fit. Thorin could never be any of those professions. He fit with the fancy and expensive suits, the luxury apartment, the hectic life at the club, the casino and whatever it was that also belonged to Thorin.

Thorin didn’t belong in the quiet life.

Where did he belong? The quiet life just made sense. Growing up in a small village surrounded by miles of green hills and land. It was the kind of village where nothing ever really happened and the best gossip was who would win the Best Tomato Competition. But Bilbo had moved to the city for a reason, right? To get away from that quiet life, to experience life. Instead he had worked seven days a week either for school, the shop or the clinic. Always running around, always busy, never standing still.

In a way, Bilbo realized he had moved away from the green hills to have different life and while he had in no way a life like Thorin, it wasn’t so quiet either.

He didn’t want a quiet life, nor did he want a loud life.

He wanted a life with Thorin. And if it was a two-package deal, then…. so be it.

Bilbo threw his book onto the sofa and stalked over to the kitchen.

Thorin was a bit surprised to see the student in the kitchen. ‘Bilbo, what’s wro…’ Thorin couldn’t finish his sentence. Bilbo reached up and pulled Thorin’s hair downwards. Pressing his lips to Thorin’s.

Thorin didn’t think twice about it to wraps his arms around Bilbo and kiss back. Since Mirkwood, they had barely touched each other. They slept in the same bed, but there had been no sex, a bit of affection, hardly any hugs since then. Thorin didn’t want to push Bilbo, afraid that it would actually push the younger one farther away.

So, when Bilbo kissed him with so much passion and fire, he didn’t have to think about it. He accepted everything Bilbo gave him.

Bilbo pulled back, reluctant to end the kiss, but he had to tell Thorin.

‘Fight for us.’

The lasagna was long forgotten and sadly... burnt to a crisp.

**XoXoX**

Bilbo’s security increased, meaning he was never alone again. Bilbo did mind at the beginning, but Bofur and Gloin were great guys. Bofur was always toying with a piece of wood and a knife, creating the most beautiful figurines. Gloin loved talking about his wife and son, clearly very proud of them. They would wait in the lobby in Bilbo was in the apartment, and at school they would pick up Bilbo and Ori and update every few hours or so, but they were absolutly not allowed in Beorn’s clinic. It was too weird and distracting and Bilbo didn’t want anyone asking questions. They would have to wait outside in the car.

Thorin wasn’t happy about it, but came up with the simple compromise that Dwalin would learn him to defend himself. Bilbo didn’t believe that Thorin was serious and had actually laughed at the thought alone, but he wasn’t laughing anymore after the first session. It still felt as a complete joke and he could hardly keep himself serious. 

Dwalin was impressed. Bilbo was fast and light on his feet and that was a great advantage that they would put to good use. But he had no muscle strength. Dwalin had given him a small knife, telling him: ‘You don’t have to have strength to damage your attacker. You’re small, fast and light, so a knife is your best option.’ Bilbo didn’t know if it was a complement or not, but he took it like one. The only thing he wasn’t comfortable with were guns, not even when Thorin had tried to teach him.

'You don’t have to use them or keep one on you, love.’ Thorin had assured Bilbo. ‘But you do need to know how to use one, just in case.’

'I know how a gun works, Thorin.' Bilbo confessed, to witch Thorin was a bit surprised. His grandfather had thought him how to use them to scare away the wolves that would dare to attack the cows and sheep on the farm. But after Bilbo had seen and heard a wolf cry out in pain as it hadn't died right away after being shot, Bilbo had refused to ever use a gun again since then. But he still remembered how to use them. His mother and father had been very angry at his grandfather.

Thorin thought it was only fair if he also did something for Bilbo, since the student was doing so much to fit into Thorin’s life. Bilbo’s request was very simple. Doing normal relationship things. Going out for dinner, to the cinema, inviting friends over to the apartment, go on a trip, just the two of them.

The one thing that Thorin found stressful was the thought of Bilbo going back to classes in a few days. The summer had passed by faster than either one of them had wanted. It worried Thorin that something would happen on campus. Gloin and Bofur would drop Bilbo off and pick him up when classes ended, but he was adamant that neither of the two men could follow him into his classes. They had a fight about it, but Bilbo assured Thorin that he would make sure that Bofur and Gloin had his timetable and he would call immediately if he noticed something suspicious. Thorin had given in, he didn’t like it, but he gave in. Simple because he knew Ori had had the same conversation with Dwalin and Dwalin hadn’t given in. So the guards would join Ori on campus, discreetly, and the two students often were together on campus.

He still didn’t like any of it.

**XoXoX**

Bilbo couldn’t sleep.

They’ve had a really nice night. They had gone out for dinner at a really nice restaurant. It belonged to Bombur, who was a close friend of Thorin and Bofur’s brother. During dinner, Thorin had told him that Bombur was one of the people he had helped. Bombur had suffered an addiction to painkillers which almost made him lose everything. Thorin already knew Bifur, Bombur’s cousin, who worked for him. Thorin had helped him just on time and even invested in Bombur’s restaurant. Thorin had offered Bofur a job when he learned Bombur’s brother had lost his job duo to Smaug. Thorin’s grandfather had just died when all of this was happening, so they knew each other for ages.

After dinner, a very nice bottle of wine and a lot of laughter, they had gone home where they had amazing shower sex. Thorin had fallen asleep relatively fast, but Bilbo couldn’t and it annoyed him so much.

Deciding he had enough, Bilbo decided to make himself a cup of camomile tea. He put on one of Thorin’s shirts and headed quietly towards the kitchen only using the dim kitchen lights so he could see what he was doing. If he used the normal lights, it would be to bright and he wouldn’t be able to sleep at all.

Bilbo wondered if he was nervous for tomorrow. School was starting again, and he knew it would be weird. Ori and his guards, Bofur dropping him off at school and Gloin picking him up, he hadn’t heard anything from Legolas which was weird and he hoped to the gods that it wasn’t because he had met daddy Thranduil.

Bilbo was sipping his cup when he heard the sound of a jingling sound. It got his attention immediately. Thorin lived in the penthouse and this was the only apartment on the top floor. So it couldn’t be from another apartment. So someone was opening the front door of the apartment!

The door opened and was closed again.

Bilbo was panicking. He couldn’t go back and wake up Thorin, he was way to far from the bedroom and if he yelled he would alert the intruder. Bilbo grabbed the first thing he could and stood behind the corner of the hallway and the kitchen.

A fucking frying pan.

Bilbo could kick himself. All that training and the first thing he grabbed was a fucking frying pan. Dwalin would be laughing so hard he would probably piss himself.

The footsteps got closer. Bilbo held his breath. His heart was racing so hard, he was afraid it would suddenly stop.

The food steps were almost next to him. Bilbo turned to corner and immediately hit the intruder as hard as he could against the head.

The intruder fell on the ground and cursed loudly, yelling in pain.

It woke Thorin up, who was holding a gun as he got out of the bedroom and turned on the lights.

Bilbo, are you alr… Oh god.’ Thorin said seeing Bilbo with his pan and a man on the ground. But instead of doing anything that Bilbo would have expected, Thorin started laughing. The man on the ground was groaning and holding his nose, blood was rushing between his fingers.

‘Bilbo, this is Frerin, my brother.’


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!
> 
> So here is the latest chapter. Hope you all enjoy it.  
> Let me know what you think of this chapter.
> 
> This chapter isn't beta-read, so all mistakes are mine.

**Chapter 17**

Bilbo had never felt more guilt than that night.

He had tried fixing Frerin up, helping to stop the bleeding and cleaning the blood away saying that he didn’t think his nose was broken but it would hurt for a few days. And of course, he kept apologizing.

Thorin had send him to the guest room to get some sleep. Frerin had only huffed something and left. Barely looking at Bilbo.

‘What is he doing here so late?’ Bilbo had asked Thorin when they got back into bed.

‘I don’t know.’ Thorin had answered and pulled Bilbo close to him. ‘He normally always stays with Dis when he’s in the city.’

‘You knew he would come back?’

‘He comes back whenever he wants and he has the keys to the apartment. Noor knows who he is, so he probably just let him up without thinking about letting us know, which is understandable.’

Bilbo didn’t say anything. He felt so guilty.

This wasn’t a great first impression.

‘So, you hit my brother with a frying pan.’

XoXoX

School went fine.

Normal.

Frerin was still asleep when he left. Thorin had kissed him goodbye and Bofur had dropped him off acting silly, pretending to be a proud mom who drops her kid off at uni. They had also picked Ori up since it was on their way. The car behind them were Ori’s guards, who Ori had named Mario and Luigi, and they kinda looked like normal students. They were both young enough to pass as students.

The entire day they would have introduction classes, which was very boring, but it was nice to see a lot of their friends again. During lunch, Bilbo saw Legolas, who did not look happy.

‘What did you do?’ he snapped at the smaller man, pulling him away from their lunch table. Bilbo noticed Mario and Luigi keeping an eye on him.

‘What do you mean?’ Bilbo tried to play it cool and failing hard.

‘You met my father and you talked to him? What the hell were you thinking?’ Legolas was very angry. He didn’t want to see his father for a reason. Always being pushed around to do what he wanted, to go where he wanted, to be with who he wanted. It was not his life he was allowed to life if he stayed with Thranduil.

‘Legolas, it’s not what you think. You don’t know what happened.’ Bilbo tried.

‘Then explain, Bilbo! How the hell did you get into Mirkwood?’

Bilbo doubted he should be talking about this, but Legolas was his friend and he deserved an explanation… right? ‘I pushed myself between the bars of the fence.’

‘Why?’

Bilbo hesitated. ‘Because I… I… was being chased.’ He didn’t like the memories.

‘I know what kind of person Thranduil is, Bilbo, and what kind of people he is involved with and the best advise I can give you is to stay as far away from them as you can. They are nothing but trouble and you will regret everything! It’s all a lie! Everything they ever tell you is a lie!’

‘Legolas, I didn’t know…’

‘Well, now you do!’ Legolas almost yelled, but kept his voice down at the last second. He didn’t want to make a scene on the first day. He still worked at the university shop and he wanted to keep that job. ‘You bribed your way our of Mirkwood with information about me and now he knows! He wants me to come home and be his perfect little prince! You can’t just talk about people like that.’

‘You never told me!’ Bilbo snapped back. He knew it wasn’t okay what he had done, but there was no reason to be so mean about it. ‘You never told me about Thranduil. You never tell me anything...' Bilbo whispered the last part. 

‘Well, you never told me about you fucking Thorin Durin, so I guess were even.’ Legolas looked so disappointed when he walked away. Bilbo was left speechless.

Thranduil must have told him. Bilbo looked at his friends and saw Mario and Luigi turn away, pretending they didn’t saw anything. No doubt they would report this to Thorin, since they clearly were not only here to keep an eye on Ori.

XoXoX

Gloin was waiting for Ori and Bilbo like he had said he would do, but instead of driving them home, he had to drive them to the club.

‘Why?’ Bilbo had asked.

‘Dunno.’ Gloin answered. ‘But I heard Frerin is back in town and you gave him quit a welcome party.’ This peaked Ori’s interest.

‘What did you do?’ his eyes were glistering with curiosity.

‘I’ll tell you later.’

Bilbo didn’t even get the change. When they entered the club, they were greeted by Thorin, Dwalin, Bofur, Bifur, Balin, Dis, Oin and of course Frerin. Kili and Fili were coloring in on of the boots. They were all laughing and having a fun time, but when Dwalin spotted Bilbo he boomed: ‘Of all the weapons I thought you, you use a frying pan to hit Frerin!’

Everybody found it extremely funny, even Frerin was laughing.

‘How is your nose?’ Bilbo asked. Thorin had pulled him to his side and kept his hand firmly on his waist. Frerin was handsome, very handsome. The same blue eyes, but long blond hair instead of the black hair his brother and sister had. He looked more laid back and wasn’t as formal as Thorin, who always wore a fancy suit when he had to work. He was also younger, maybe a bit older than Bilbo.

‘Well, you hit me pretty hard with that pan, but I’ll live.’ Frerin snickered. ‘It’s wasn’t the way I was planning to meet you, but it certainly is a fun story.’

‘Dis told Frerin about us a while ago.’ Thorin told Bilbo and then asked. ‘How was your first day?’

‘It went well. Mostly introduction classes and next week the real classes start.’

‘Were you able to talk about any of your professors about the early graduating?’ now Bilbo just had the feeling Thorin was showing him of, but he had to admit, he didn’t hate it.

‘If everything goes well, I’ll graduate in February and I get to do the whole graduation ceremony thing in June with the others.’ Bilbo explained happily. He had worked so hard the last few years for school and the thought of graduating early with the chance to start full time at Beorn’s really made his day. He would finally be a real vet, not just an intern or the student who had to do the little dirty jobs. Thorin was very proud of his little student, who very soon would not be a student anymore.

‘Dis told be you are studying to become a vet.’ Frerin took a sip of his drink. ‘Must be nice to have your own little doctor on call.’ He winked at Thorin. Thorin wasn’t amused by the comment. He rather not talk about his sex life with his little brother, not when his friend, family and lover were right in front of them.

‘So why did you decide to crash at my place instead of Dis?’

Frerin laughed. ‘What? Can’t a brother go and annoy his oldest sibling?’

‘No, not at three in the morning.’

‘I needed to tell you something, but with the frying pan and the headache and you off to work, I didn’t get the change.’ Frerin explained, looked a bit more serious.

'What were you going to do?' Thorin asked. 'Wake me up?'

‘Dain is here.’

Bilbo could feel Thorin tense up. The hand on his waist was holding him so tight there would be bruising for sure.

‘Who is Dain?’ Bilbo asked.

‘Our cousin.’ Frerin explained. ‘We don’t like him.’

‘Nobody like’s that fucking idiot.’ Dwalin mumbled, clearly in a foul mood.

‘How do you know this?’ Balin asked. He didn’t doubt the young Durin, but they needed certain facts before coming to a conclusion.

‘I was in Germany and visited his club, got the right man so drunk it was like he had gotten a truth serum. He told me Dain was planning a visit.’

‘Why is he coming here?’ Dis asked. ‘He has nothing to search here. Surely some of your spies know?’

‘They all told me the same thing. He wants to talk to Thorin. He found out about Bilbo and wants to meet him.’ The fun mood was completely gone by now. Thorin didn’t realize how close he had pulled Bilbo against him or that his hand was actually hurting his little student. Bilbo didn’t dare to say anything. He immediately knew that this Dain person was some kind of weird threat to Thorin.

‘Does he know who Bilbo is?’ Balin asked Frerin. It scared Bilbo that is was so clear that Dain was interested in him.

‘No, you all did a really good job at hiding Bilbo’s identity.’ Bilbo didn’t even know they were doing that. ‘That’s why he’s here in person.’

Bilbo didn’t like this.

They all stayed for a few more hours. Bombur had been nice enough to cater their little get together. It was a fun evening, but there was some tension. Bilbo knew Thorin was not enjoyed his evening like he normally would.

The car ride back was quiet. Bilbo noticed how Thorin tried to keep bodily connect with him. He hadn’t released him in the club and now in the car he kept his hand on Bilbo’s knee, only letting go of him when he had to shift gears.

They were in the elevator when Bilbo spoke.

‘Thorin, what is going on? What’s the thing with Dain?’

Thorin didn’t answer him, but also didn’t release him from his hold.

‘Talk to me, Thorin.’ Bilbo tried again when they were in the apartment. Hoping the older man would open up to him in the safe space of the penthouse.

Thorin signed. ‘He’s an asshole.’ He started, trapping Bilbo between the kitchen island and his body, each arm on either side. ‘A jealous bastard who thinks everything my grandfather, my father or I worked for belongs to him. He’s like a child who doesn’t want anyone to be happy. He wants everything I have and I hate him for it.’

‘Can he take the business?’ Bilbo asked.

‘No, he’s not that stupid. He would never try to take the business, but he can get to you.’ Thorin looked hurt, so vulnerable. ‘And he will lure you away from me.’

‘He’s done that before?’ Bilbo cupped Thorin’s face, his hand going through that dark beard, knowing Thorin found this action incredibly soothing.

‘It was a reason for Frerin to travel around. Frerin had found the love of his life, sweet and nice girl, a normal girl. Dain came for a visit and she ended up leaving with him. Saying he’s looking for our father is just an excuse. Dain tried doing it with me, but I never kept anyone around long enough and now I have you and I know... I know he will try to take you.’

Bilbo softly pulled the hair tie out of Thorin hair and let his hands play with the long locks. ‘You really think, after everything that has already happened, I would leave you for your cousin?’

‘He finds a way…’

Bilbo interrupted Thorin. 'You really think I would leave you for your cousin?' he repeated.

Thorin didn't answer. Refusing to break eye contact with the younger one.

‘I don’t care.’ Bilbo whispered to Thorin and softly smiled. ‘I’m not leaving you, Thorin. You need to trust me on this: I’m staying with you and Dain can try, but it will just end poorly for him. Please, trust me, I’m not going anywhere.’

They made love that night. Sweet and slow. Thorin made sure that Bilbo was trembling in pleasure as he slowly sank into the smaller body. Slowly, centimetre by centimetre until he was completely seated, just to slowly pull out again. It drove Bilbo mad, but Thorin loved it.

He wouldn’t let anyone take Bilbo away from him.

Not Smaug.

Not Dain.

Not anybody. 

Bilbo was his and his alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I decided to not abandon this story. I won't update regular or make a promise or anything like it, but I want to finish this story for myself. So I don't know when or how many chapters will follow, but I will finish this story


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at that. Two chapters in one week!  
> So my school closed down again, so we are doing a lot of the classes online, which gave me a lot of extra time since I don't have to travel to school and back home every day.   
> I told myself I have to use that time to do something I like, so I'm writing and drawing again. A lot.
> 
> Also, you are al so wonderful. I really enjoy reading your comments and getting the kudos. It really makes my day.
> 
> This chapter is not beta-read, so all mistakes are mine.
> 
> Enjoy!

**Chapter 18**

For some reason, it took Dain a week to finally go to Thorin’s club. Thorin and Bilbo were in his office. Bilbo had decided to drop for a little cuddle time before going to the clinic. Between school, training, work, the club and Smaug, who was still a threat, they had barely seen each other. It wasn’t something that Thorin had wanted, but he had warned Bilbo that sometimes he would have no time for them. He was relieved to know that Bilbo was okay with that, since he himself had a pretty busy life.

Off course, Bilbo was on his knees giving him a frustratingly good blowjob when Balin knocking on his door announcing that Dain was in the club. That certainly killed the mood.

Thorin hadn’t even seen Dain yet and already he was ruining his sex life.

Wonderful.

‘Do you want to stay and meet him, or escape now?’ Thorin asked Bilbo while making himself presentable. He really wasn’t happy about Dain visiting.

‘Let’s get it over now,’ Bilbo answered, trying to quickly fix his hair. Thorin loved to fist Bilbo’s hair when he was giving him a blowjob, but it turned his curls into a weird bird’s nest. ‘But I can’t stay long. I start my shift in half an hour.’

As if that was his que, Dain entered Thorin’s office. Dwalin, Balin and a few of Dain’s men followed.

Bilbo didn’t know what he had expected, but Dain was a… handsome man. Not as handsome as Thorin or Frerin. He was okay. Tall like Thorin, with a full red beard, his red hair was tied in a low bun in the nape of his neck. He was wearing an expensive dark green suit.

He was not unattractive, but the air he carried around him was what made him unattractive to Bilbo.

‘Cousin!’ his voice boomed and approached Thorin with a big smile.

‘Dain.’ Thorin said unimpressed and shook his hand. ‘How are you?’

‘Good, good!’ Dain smiled and put his attention on Bilbo.

‘So, this is the one who sleeps in your bed!’

Thorin was NOT amused, while Bilbo was speechless at the rudeness and it basically made everyone in the room uncomfortable.

‘Dain, this is Bilbo,’ Thorin introduced Bilbo with a sharp undertone. ‘my partner.’

Dain extended his hand to Bilbo to shake, but Bilbo ignored it. If Dain could be rude to him, then Bilbo could be rude too.

‘Pleasure.’ Bilbo said dryly and turned to Thorin. ‘I’m going to be late. I’ll see you tonight?’

Thorin nodded and let Bilbo go. He had a hard time not to offend Dain by laughing in his face with how Bilbo was treating him. Bilbo left without another word and closed the door behind him.

‘What are you doing here, Dain?’ Thorin went and sat down in his desk chair, not even making the effort to motion for Dain to also sit down. Dwalin stayed by the door, while Balin moved to stand closer to Thorin. Dain’s men stayed in the middle of the room, behind their boss.

‘Do I always need a reason to visit my cousin? How is Dis?’

‘Busy. Why are you here?’

‘How is Frerin? I haven’t seen him since he left for Asia. Still searching for your father?’

Either Dain knew that Frerin was in the city or he really didn’t know where Frerin was. Even Thorin and Dis often didn’t know where Frerin was, but he would send a postcard from time to time to let know everything was alright. But this was a trick question.

‘He’s fine.’ Thorin answered. ‘He’s in the city actually.’

‘Oh, all three Durin siblings in the same place?’ Dain smirked and Thorin didn’t thrust it. ‘A rare event.’

Thorin didn’t bother saying anything. He knew Dain would just be a pain in his ass. He’s always been like that, even when they were little children Dain had been a 100% asshole. Breaking Frerin’s toys and pulling Dis’ braids. Getting Thorin in trouble and playing the innocent one. Never getting punished.

‘A little birdy told me you got in trouble with our fun friend, Smaug.’ Dain answered, taking a seat across from Thorin and leaning back. ‘And that your little loved got dragged into the whole mess.’

‘What is your point, Dain?’ Balin spoke. He was a patient man, more patient than Thorin would ever be, but even he would lose his patience fast with Dain. Dain didn’t even look at Balin, keeping his focus on Thorin. The arrogance of that man.

‘Well, he’s feisty, isn’t he? Your… partner.’ Dain spoke the last world in such a way that it was crystal clear that he didn’t take it seriously. ‘But is he strong enough to handle what happens in this family?’

He was fishing for information. He must have found out that things had happened but didn’t know what. 

‘Why would you involve someone like that, Thorin? Have you learned nothing of Vili’s death? You can’t just take an innocent life like Bilbo’s and put him into the dangers of our family.’

Thorin didn’t even had to second guess what Dain was implying.

‘Bilbo can take care of himself. What do you want?’ Thorin was already on the last of his nerves.

‘I was just curious why you would do that.’

Thorin noticed Dwalin rolling his eyes. If Dain knew about Bilbo, he surely would also know about Ori.

‘You came all this way because of curiosity?’

‘No, of course not. A little bit. After all, it doesn’t happen often that you let one of your little playthings move into your apartment.’ Dain smiled. Thorin knew Dain was just trying to annoy him, seeing how far he could push him. Thorin, while boiling inside, stayed calm and it annoyed Dain. ‘I also wanted to discuss some business.’

‘By all means, talk business.’ Thorin had enough of Dain for tonight. He had other things to do and had to finish those things before he could leave and pick Bilbo up. He didn’t want to be late or have Bofur pick Bilbo up, when he was promised an early night at home.

‘What? Now?’ Dain laughed and got up. Thorin stayed seated, keeping his eyes on his cousin. ‘No, I suggest we have dinner first sometime this week. What do you say? Tomorrow evening at Bombur’s, eight o’clock?’

Thorin was fucking annoyed. This was what Dain did. Play around like a bored child, planting little seeds in people’s minds that would grow in insecurity and anger. Pushing people to make mistakes. How much Thorin hated to admit it, it was Dain’s weakest and strongest way to get what he wanted. Thorin had witnessed business transactions go into completely different way’s, always in Dain’s favor, but he often didn’t know when to stop. Like what he had done to Frerin and his girl and Frerin was left with a broken heart.

Thorin nodded.

‘Oh and Thorin.’ Dain smirked as he walked towards the door, his guards already following him. ‘Do bring your little partner.’

XoXoX

Bilbo wasn’t happy that he was being dragged to dinner with that ridiculous excuse of a man. At least it was at Bombur’s, but he wasn’t sure if he could enjoy the food with Dain at the same table. Bilbo had forced Thorin to tell him about his meeting with Dain.

Thorin and Bilbo were early. Dwalin and Bofur were with them and extra guards were placed outside of the restaurant. Bilbo had asked if that wasn’t a bit much.

‘You can never be too careful with people you don’t trust.’

Bilbo felt very out of place. This was dinner with work Thorin, not sweet and warm home Thorin. Thorin had dressed him in a white button shirt, dark blue vest with gold buttons and matching trousers. While Thorin was dressed in a very nice dark grey suit. Bilbo didn’t mind dressing up, but these clothing cost more than his schoolbooks and those things were soooo expensive.

Bombur was happy to see them and gave them the nicest table in the restaurant. He stayed a bit for small talk and was happy to see his brother but was quickly called back to the kitchen. Dwalin and Bofur sat two tables away from Thorin and Bilbo.

‘I wished it was just the two of us.’ Bilbo muttered. Thorin smiled and put his hand over Bilbo’s.

‘I know, love, me too. It was a smart move not shaking Dain’s hand yesterday.’ Thorin said, scanning the restaurant. ‘He’ll see you as a challenge, but it makes you unpredictable.’

‘He was rude.’ Bilbo whispered, taking a sip of his water, thinking that Thorin was disappointed in him. But his lover looked at him and smiled.

‘Do it again today.’ Thorin had actually been proud of his partner to no submit to Dain after his rude comment.

Dwalin signaled that Dain and his own men had entered the restaurant. Of course, he was early too. Thorin stood up with Bilbo following his example.

Dain smiled. ‘Thorin.’ They shook hands and Dain turned his attention to Bilbo.

‘Do I dare?’ Dain asked him. Bilbo

‘Will you make another rude comment about where I sleep?’

Dain’s grin grew even larger. ‘Maybe.’

‘Let’s sit down.’ Bilbo sat down and this time it was Thorin who followed. Dain was perplexed for just a second, but composed himself, smiled and sat down.

Dain mostly spoke and it was all useless and uninteresting. But this was apparently the way it always went with Dain. Thorin was so patient, but everyone knew it was just a mask. Bilbo lost the count of how many times he saw Dwalin roll his eyes and how many times Bofur checked his watch. Bofur and Dwalin also had gotten plates with food, while Dain’s guards got nothing. It was a very small stab to show that, if anything happened, Thorin had the upper hand. It showed that Thorin’s men were equal to Thorin.

It was when dessert was served, that Dain finally spoke business.

‘So, my secretary had made up a file with everything you need to know about what Smaug has been doing the last few months and I will give it to you.’

Bilbo realized this dinner had been a waste of time. Dain had the file all this time. Bilbo begged the gods in the heavens that this was it. Dain would give the file to Thorin, there would be five to ten more minutes of small talk, they would say goodbye and they would all be able to leave.

‘But I want to talk to Bilbo first.’

Bilbo tensed up. He really didn’t want to be left alone with Dain. He knew Thorin wouldn’t be far, neither would Bofur or Dwalin be, but still. Dain’s a pig!

Thorin turned to Bilbo. ‘I’ll go pay my compliments to Bombur. I won’t be long.’ Thorin stood up, but Bofur and Dwalin stayed, keeping an eye on Bilbo.

‘So, Bilbo,’ Dain started, taking a sip of his wine. ‘You are very well protected by Thorin. I could hardly find anything about you. Why don’t we use this time to get to know each other?’

‘I rather not.’ Bilbo answered truthfully.

Dain smiled. ‘Well, you might want to reconsider that. After all, I still haven’t given Thorin the file.’ Bilbo bit the inside of his cheek.

Blackmail.

Classy.

‘What do you want to know?’ Bilbo sighed. This was bullshit. He needed… wanted… Thorin.

‘A fine lad like yourself in the company of someone like Thorin is a bit unusual. What is it exactly between you two?’

‘We have a relationship.’ Bilbo answered.

‘What kind of relationship?’

‘A loyal one.’

‘So you are just not his bed warmer.’ Dain stated, taking a sip of his wine.

Bilbo didn’t answer, he knew he wasn’t Thorin’s bed warmer. He wouldn’t let Dain make him doubt their relationship.

‘Aren’t you afraid he will get tired of you, after all you are a very normal lad. What do you have to offer someone like Thorin Durin to keep him interested?’

Bilbo couldn’t answer that and even if he could, he wouldn’t tell Dain. Sadly, Dain had a point. What did he have to keep Thorin interested in him? He was just a simple veterinary student with no money or anything.

‘Don’t you want to be with someone who would actually appreciate you, for just you.’

Bilbo realized where Dain was going to and what he was doing. ‘And who do you think who would offer me that? You?’

‘I do appreciate beauty and a smart lad and I would take very good care of you. You would never have to work again, and you would never have to wish for anything. I would shower you in gifts and luxuries. The only time you would have to beg is in the bedroom.’ Dain smiled and winked.

Bilbo almost gagged and so incredibly uncomfortable. How could this man say this in the middle of a restaurant surrounded by his own men and the men of his cousin without shame? This even made Dwalin and Bofur uncomfortable.

‘Why don’t you think Thorin doesn’t do all of those things for me?’ Bilbo was so annoyed. He was a nasty manipulative pig.

‘Because I know Thorin. He doesn’t express his emotions and expect everyone to be just fine with that. He pushes everyone away from him. He uses whoever he wants to get his fun and for him you are just a long-term release system. You would be so much happier with me. Don’t you think you should belong to someone who would make you happy?’ Dain smirked and leaned back into his chair. ‘I even dare to bet that he has never told you he cares about you. Or even that he loves you.’

Bilbo eyed Dain who was looking so fucking smug, Bilbo felt the urge to slap him. But he would be lying if this wasn’t something that hadn’t crossed his mind. Thorin had never told him he loved him and it wasn’t something that Bilbo was waiting for, actions speak louder than words, but still…

Bilbo took a deep breath and looked at Dain. ‘With respect: you know nothing about my relationship with Thorin.’

Dain smiled. ‘But I’m not wrong, am I?’

Bilbo let out a small laugh and shook his head in disbelieve. How far was Dain willing to push this? ‘So, you’re telling me to leave Thorin because you think he has never told me that he loves me? Those are just some pretty words that can be easily said be anyone and hold no meaning. There are so many ways of telling someone you love them, and you think Thorin will choose the most basic way? It just shows that maybe you don’t know him as well as you thought.’

Dain had expected everything, everything, except this. He had never expected the small, young student to be so mouthy. But it made him smile and it creeped Bilbo out.

‘You truly are a challenge. I like that.’

Thorin returned just on time.

‘I think this has lasted long enough. Bilbo, let’s go.’ Bilbo didn’t even think to do what he was told. He really wanted to leave. Dwalin and Bofur were already making arrangements to leave safely.

‘Dain, I wish I could say this was a pleasure.’ Thorin told his cousin.

Dain simply smiled. ‘I will drop off the file tomorrow morning at your apartment. Maybe discuss a thing or two.’ He focused on Bilbo. ‘Bilbo, remember what I told you.’

Bilbo didn’t even look at him. ‘Goodbye.’

They left.

Thorin was furious when Bilbo eventually, after a lot of prying, told him what Dain had tried to do. Implying that Bilbo would better belong with Dain, than with Thorin.

He really was a pig.

Sadly, he was also family.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!
> 
> Here you have the newest chapter. I hope you all like it.
> 
> I love reading what you think of the story in the comments, it really makes my day.
> 
> This chapter isn't beta-read. If someone wants to volunteer for that job, let me know :p

**Chapter 19**

Thorin didn’t like what Dain had told Bilbo and his little lover didn’t need to tell him that Dain undoubtable made some comment about their sex life. That in combination with the fact that Dain had said Bilbo didn’t belong with Thorin, made him furious. He didn’t understand why Dain felt entitled to say things like that and definitely not why he would say something like that to Thorin’s partner. Well, Thorin did understand it a little bit. It was the only way Dain could ever display so kind of weird and twisted dominance against Thorin and his family. It was no secret that Dain’s father had argued with Thorin’s grandfather that it should be Dain to take over the business in case something happened. Dain says he has ‘accepted’ his place, but this was just an annoying way of showing he had something to say.

Like a child.

Balin had called him already, saying that he, Dwalin and Dain would be there in twenty minutes with Dain and the file. That gave Thorin enough time for his little plan. He walked back into his bedroom, leaving the door just a little bit open. He knew this was childish, but he didn’t care, he was going to make sure Dain knew who Bilbo belonged to.

Bilbo was still asleep. Thorin pulled the sheets away and crawled between his lover’s legs. He was still naked from the night before. Thorin littered Bilbo’s neck with kisses and let his hands wonder. Bilbo wasn’t ready to wake up yet and tried to push Thorin away, which was a very sad attempt. Thorin was so much stronger than him and he was basically still asleep.

‘Thorin… what … are you doing?’ Bilbo mumbled softly.

‘Is it so unclear to what I’m trying to do?’ Thorin whispered. Bilbo let out a soft moan. That man’s voice was so sexy it was almost enough to get him hard.

‘It’s… too early.’ Bilbo tried, but even his half-asleep mind knew that his attempts were futile. He was waking up and hard. Thorin hands were wandering his body and kissing him, leaving marks, on just the right places. Bilbo buried his hands in Thorin’s hair.

‘Do you want me to stop?’ Thorin knew the answer already, he was just teasing.

‘Ah... no…’

Thorin smiled. ‘Good.’

He almost purred the word as he started to prepare Bilbo with lubed fingers. His little lover was still a bit loose from the night before, but that didn’t mean Thorin would take the risk and hurt Bilbo like this.

It didn’t take him long to make sure Bilbo was prepared well enough. He glanced at the clock. He only had about twelve minutes left.

Bilbo whimpered when Thorin pulled his fingers out, but was surprised when Thorin actually picked him up from the bed and pushed him against the wall near the bedroom door.

‘Thorin…’ Bilbo tried, but Thorin kissed him and it basically turned him into jelly. Thorin lifted him up, nearly folding Bilbo into two with how he was holding him, but it felt great. Thorin pushed his cock completely into his lover in one fast movement, making Bilbo cry out in pleasure, but it did hurt a little bit. Thorin kissed him again and only gave Bilbo a short moment before he started to move his hips again.

‘Bilbo, I want you to scream.’ Thorin whispered as he licked the shell of Bilbo’s ear. He knew this would drive Bilbo crazy since his ears were so incredibly sensitive.

Now, Bilbo had never been one to scream during sex. Mostly because he had learned to have sex pretty quiet out of fear that Ori might hear him and he always felt a bit silly, like he was in a porn film or something like that. So when Thorin told him to scream, he felt a bit defiant. He would moan, but not scream.

Thorin looked at him, slowing his hips. ‘No?’

Bilbo could hardly speak but shook his head. Thorin grinned and started to slowly litter kisses over Bilbo’s shoulder and neck before he whispered: ‘Then I’ll make you scream.’

Thorin moved with brutally hard and fast movements, constantly hitting that buddle of nerves deep inside his little lover. Bilbo screamed. Thorin had never been that rough with him and, oh god, did he like it. He felt like he was drowning in pleasure, his whole body was on fire and all he could do was dig his fingernails in Thorin’s back and scream.

If Bilbo had not been so lost in the pleasure, he would have heard people entering the apartment and calling out for Thorin. Thorin, off course, heard them. Balin had a key to the apartment so he just let himself, Dwalin and Dain in. They would wait for him in the livingroom where you couldn’t see the bedroom door, but Dain would hear Bilbo’s pleasurable screams without any doubt.

Certainly, if the bedroom door was a little bit open.

‘Thorin…’ Bilbo moaned. ‘…close…aaah’

Thorin grabbed Bilbo’s cock. ‘Who do you belong to?’

Bilbo had a hard time understanding the question so Thorin just repeated himself.

‘Aaah… you…’

‘My name!’ Thorin felt himself get closer to his orgasm, but he needed Bilbo to say his name.

‘Thorin!’

‘Louder.’

‘aah… Thorin! Thorin! THORIN!’ Bilbo came. Thorin followed not soon after.

He smiled, that would certainly have done it. Bilbo lay against him like a ragdoll, trying to catch his breath.

‘Are you alright?’ Thorin asked softly. ‘Did I hurt you?’

Bilbo couldn’t even speak, he just shook his head and let Thorin carry him back to bed and tucked in like a child. Bilbo just let him, still in bliss of his orgasm.

Thorin freshened himself up and got dressed.

‘You’re leaving?’ Bilbo asked. His voice was soft and tired. Thorin sat on the edge of the bed to put on his shoes. Bilbo thought he looked so handsome with his hair loose, but Thorin tied in back in a low ponytail.

‘I’ll be in the livingroom.’ He gave Bilbo a last kiss before he got up. ‘Balin and Dwalin are here with Dain and the file.’

Bilbo was certain he had never blushed this hard.

‘What? How long have they been here?’

‘About fifteen minutes.’

Bilbo hit Thorin with a pillow. ‘Thorin, you bastard, they will have heard us!’

‘Do you mind?’ Thorin whispered as he leaned over Bilbo and slowly kissed him.

‘This was just a fun way for you to let Dain hear that I’m yours, wasn’t it? You have no shame!’

‘Yes, I know.’ Thorin smiled, hardly being affected by the hits of the pillow. ‘Get some rest, you have classes in a few hours.’ Thorin left Bilbo completely mortified but satisfied.

Thorin found Dain in the livingroom. The look on his face was without a doubt worth the possible fight he would have with Bilbo about him screaming. Balin and Dwalin had tried to distance himself from the sounds by smoking on the balcony. They quickly finished their cigarettes and came back in when they saw Thorin. Thanking the gods, it was over.

Thorin sat down in front of Dain and smiled.

‘Now, what do you have for me?’

XoXoX

Turned out that Dain hadn’t been completely useless. He also didn’t make a single comment about Bilbo.

Thorin was very proud of that. He knew that what he had done, was petty and childish. But he wanted it to be clear to Dain who Bilbo belonged with.

And it certainly was not Dain.

‘First things first,’ Thorin started. ‘What is it that you want for the information?’

‘So, Smaug abruptly left the city a few weeks ago and nobody could figure out where he hid.’ Dain started. ‘The reason why I started tracking him is because he showed up in Germany at my club. He wanted to strike a deal to sell drugs in the clubs without any problems. I refused.’

Thorin heard Dwalin grunt something which caught Dain’s attention. ‘I know you think I’m the pig that would allow something like that to happen, but I’ve been clean for over two years now. The clubs are clean too! I don’t tolerate any use anymore!’

That came as a surprise to everyone. It was one of the reasons why no one liked Dain. His constant drug use had caused cracks in their relation. Dain taking of with Frerins girl had been the cherry on top of the cake. The last time Thorin had seen Dain, he had been so high he could barely recognize any of them. The fact that he was completely clean was something Thorin could honestly say he was proud of Dain, if he was telling the truth.

‘When I refused Smaug employees started to disappear, costumers would overdose in the bathrooms, there was a small fire behind the building, but we found it early enough, so the damage was okay. I had Smaug followed, since I am sure it was all him.’

Dain looked at Thorin.

‘There are people selling drugs in my clubs. I want my clubs clean, Thorin. I can’t keep them if they are not clean!’

It was safe to say, everyone felt some kind of sympathy for Dain. Getting clean was hard, unbelievable hard, and working in a place where the confrontation and temptations was big, is not healthy.

‘We can do that.’ Thorin assured Dain. ‘Now, what can you tell me about Smaug.’

‘The day Smaug left Germany he boarded a luxury cruise ship with a lot of his own men. I didn’t understand why Smaug would hide on a ship of all places, but I recombined the name.

_Laketown_.’

‘I don’t know that ship. Who owns it?’ Thorin asked.

‘Smaug does now, changed the name and all.’ Dain answered. ‘But it was previously owned by Bard Bowman.’

‘It’s Dale?’ Balin was surprised. ‘Bard would have never sell the ship to Smaug.’

‘He didn’t. Smaug killed his wife and is holding his children hostage to get ownership of the ship.’ Dain answered.

‘But Sarah died years ago.’ Balin said. Questioning himself. ‘Smaug has been holding three innocent children hostage for five years?’

Dain just nodded. It was inhumane what Smaug was doing to Bard. ‘How is he doing this?’

‘We’re not sure.’ Dain explained. ‘We’ve had tons of different theories. One of them is that Smaug is keeping the children on a highly secured floor which isn’t reachable for Bard. Even if he decided to rebel, it is very realistic that they would kill the children before he can even get anywhere close to them. The ship is infested with Smaug’s men.’

‘Where is Bard now?’ Thorin asked. He had met Bard once or twice in the past. He was a good man who looked out for his people, his family. The last time must have been twenty years ago or so, Thorin had been a child but he remembered Bard and the beauty of the ship. Bard would always choose to do the right thing, even if that meant putting his pride aside to ask for help. The fact that he and his family were put in this position was probably the only reason why he wouldn’t come and ask for help. It was too dangerous and had too much risks.

Dain looked uncomfortable. ‘He still works on the ship as the captain since Smaug knows shit about it. It’s like a cockroach infestation. When Smaug isn’t there, his men are. Azog’s son, Bolg, is in charge.’

Dale had been a beautiful ship. Thorin had never set foot on a ship that was as grand and enormous as Dale. One could easily get lost in it. It had many pools, indoor and outdoor, cinema’s, gyms, cuisine options, very fine casino’s, whatever you could think of, Laketown had it. It even had a legit school and trained teachers for the children of those who worked on the ship.

‘What would Smaug want with a ship that big? It’s not the best escape way.’ Dwalin thought out loud. And it was, ships were slow in comparison to airplanes and you couldn’t look past them.

‘Years ago, before Bard was the owner of Dale, his grandfather pleaded for independency so they would not have ties to any country. He wanted to declare Dale as a self-governing, handmade country. It’s a moving country, Thorin.’

That was what was so damn special about the ship.

‘That ship has its own jurisdiction.’ Dain continued. Thorin dragging a hand over his face. He couldn’t believe this. ‘It’s has its own zip code. That’s why Smaug is hiding on it. He’s safe on it. He won’t set a foot on mainland, knowing very well we are prepared for him. Whatever it is that Smaug is planning, he will stay safe on his ship while his men will do his dirty work on mainland.’

‘You have proof of this?’ Thorin asked. Gods, he felt so tired suddenly. As if this information had drained every single bit of energy he had. Smaug had played the game right if this was true and it made him dangerous.

Dain gave Thorin the file. It was filled with documents that proved Dain was telling the truth. Thorin gave the file to Balin.

‘The ship will dock any day now, it could already have docked. If Smaug tries anything, we will have to go to him.’ Dain told them.

‘That’s too dangerous.’ Balin warned.

‘But what is it that he wants?’ Dain asked his cousin.

‘The deed to Erebor.’ Thorin looked at his cousin. ‘The key to the kingdom.’

‘Thorin, if Smaug is still after Erebor, then we have to get Bilbo back here.’ Dwalin said. ‘Ori too.’

Dwalin was right. If Smaug still wanted Erebor then he knew that Thorin would not give it to him willingly. He would use Bilbo as a way to get to the deed. And if couldn’t get to Bilbo, he would take Ori. Knowing very well that Ori is basically family to Bilbo and the partner of Dwalin. They were weak spots.

Bilbo had left over an hour ago. He had showered the moment Thorin had left the bedroom, got dressed and had left the apartment with the cutest blush saying he was going to the university library to get some work done. Bofur was driving him and already waiting for him downstairs. If they were being watched, then they would have Bilbo’s schedule and would not be prepared for this sudden change.

‘Dwalin, call Bofur and make sure he picks up Bilbo. Make sure Ori is also picked up. Get them to the club! They will be save there. Balin, call Diss and update her on the situation. We need to keep her and the lads out of this! Frerin is staying at her house.’

It didn’t take long before they were all busy, making calls, making sure there was security everywhere since they knew that Smaug would play rough and dirty. Frerin would keep Dis and the boys company at her house. There would be extra guards outside just to be sure. Same for the casino, the club and every other building that Thorin owned. Dain could provide Thorin with extra men if he needed them. Sadly they would need it. With Thorin spreading his own men over every building he owned and his family, he was getting low on men.

Dwalin had been able to call Ori and talk to him, explaining that he would have to go to the club with Bilbo and Bofur. But Ori was at the bookshop since he didn’t have any classes that morning and he hadn’t heard anything from Bilbo all morning.

Thorin tried calling Bilbo multiple, but he didn’t answer. The student had explained to Thorin once that his phone was on silent when he was in the library or in class since he didn’t want to be kicked out of either. It made sense at the time, but now Thorin wished he had at least asked Bilbo to put it on vibrate. Thorin got agitated after an hour of not hearing anything back and constantly calling Bilbo. By now the class had finished or he would have left the library since it was lunchtime so he would have looked at his phone by now, right?

It drove Thorin crazy!

‘Have you heard anything from Bofur yet?’ Thorin snarled at Dwalin and Balin. He knew he shouldn’t talk like that to them, but this was wrecking his nerves.

‘He was on his way to pick up Bilbo,’ Balin said, feeling sympathy for his friend and understood the situation he was in. This wasn’t easy, for nobody. Ori was still at the bookshop, closing up, with Mario and Luigi at the front. So at least they knew Ori was still alright, but he still had to wait for Bofur to pick him up.

Where the fuck was Bilbo?

Thorin’s phone was vibrating with Bilbo’s name on the screen. Thorin picked up before the devise could even vibrate for a second time.

‘Bilbo, where are you?’ Thorin demanded.

‘Now, now, eager are we?’

The voice made Thorin’s blood run cold.

‘Smaug.’ It took every fiber in Thorin’s body to stay calm, but he was absolutely boiling on the inside. ‘Where is Bilbo?’ Balin motioned to Thorin to put the phone on speakers so they could also hear the conversation. Thorin did as Balin wanted.

‘Oh, he is just fine with me here, Thorin.’ Smaug purred.

‘Let me speak to him.’ Thorin demanded, almost crushing the phone in his hand.

‘Sweet Bilbo is sleeping, Thorin.’ Smaug smirked. ‘You see, there was a little accident with the car and Bilbo must have hit his head, because he was unconscious when Azog dragged him out of the wreck and he still is.’

Thorin could see Balin leave the room with his phone, probably to call people to find Bofur and find out if he still was alive.

‘Where is he?’

‘You think I’m just going to tell you where he is?’ Smaug teased. Thorin tried his best to listed to the background, searching for sounds he could recognize so he could maybe spot where Smaug was. Dwalin had already texted Mario and Luigi by now to get Ori away from the bookshop and to the club where he would be safe as fast as possible.

‘I can tell you were I am.’ Smaug was just laughing, knowing he had the upper hand. ‘Or maybe you already know where I am. Well, you already know what I want, so you might as well bring it and we can have a little chat about what I want. And I would hurry, Thorin. Your little toy is very, very pretty, certainly when I can do whatever I want with him…’

‘Smaug.’ Thorin interrupted him, but Smaug just continued.

Balin walked back into the room and whispered. ‘Bofur is already in the hospital with a broken leg, but otherwise he’s fine.’ Thorin nodded and turned his full attention back onto Smaug.

‘Normally, I like a bit of a fight. But having him unconscious could be interesting. I know his fiery spirit would be hard to break. You know, I never touched hair so soft.’

‘Don’t you fucking touch him! I’ll fucking kill you!’ Thorin said calmly, but it was filled with every threat in the world. He had to keep himself calm. He knew he would help nobody if he lost his temper.

‘You know, this is the third time I’ve taken Bilbo and apparently, third time’s the charm.’ Thorin could just feel Smaug smile and it made very hair on his body stand up. ‘You have one hour to get here and only bring who you truly need to bring, otherwise sweet Bilbo will finally know the real pleasure of a man.’

And with that, it was the end of their conversation.

Thorin looked at the sun slowly setting. ‘Balin, call Thranduil.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just saying, I felt like a lot happened in this chapter.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys!
> 
> New chapter! I hope you enjoy it.  
> Let me know what you think of it. I really love you're comments :)
> 
> I do have a WARNING: there are some violent scenes coming up in this chapter and the next chapters.  
> This is me warning you all. I'm not great at it, but I try. 
> 
> This chapter isn't beta-read.

**Chapter 20**

Bilbo didn’t know what to do. His head hurt so much, and he had a metallic taste in his mouth. He didn’t dare to open his eyes out of fear that the light of the room would hurt his head even more. It confused Bilbo that he couldn’t move his arms or legs. For a moment he was afraid he was paralyzed. He remembered being in the car with Bofur and then the car flipped or something like that. He remembered hearing Bofur yell at him and the sound of breaking glass and then everything had gone dark.

Was Bofur alright?

Where was he?

He hardly remembered anything! It was all so hazy, and it had all happened so fast.

It took Bilbo a long time to realize he could in fact move his limbs, but they were tied together with rough robe that burned the flesh of his arms when he tried to move.

It was so quiet in the room that Bilbo was in, that alone made him incredibly uncomfortable, but the sounds in the background made him wonder where he was

.

He slowly opened his eyes and was surprised to find the room very dim, but with a golden glow. The sun must have been setting. The room itself was very pretty and luxurious. The bed he was on was big and had very nice and expensive sheets. The furniture was all made in a very pretty, light colored wood. It was modern and slightly cozy, but all very expensive which made Bilbo wonder where he was.

Bilbo tried to sit up. His head was spinning, and he felt like he would throw up. It became a bit better after a few deep breaths, but Bilbo knew he it would not be the last time he would experience the dizziness.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Bilbo tried to wiggle himself out of the rope. After kicking of his shoes, he was able to free his legs. Slowly standing up but feeling so dizzy, Bilbo walked over to the window only to realize… he was looking at the sun setting in water.

Was he on a fucking boat?

Bilbo started to panic. Why was he on a boat? Why was he tied up? Why did his head hurt so much? Was Bofur all right? Where was Thorin?

Oh god, Thorin! Thorin would be so angry with him, while he had been so careful since the last time Smaug had tried to take him. He didn’t want a repeat of the last fight they had when Thorin hadn’t spoken to him for days.

Bilbo was in a panic attack but forced himself to calm down. Taking slow and deep breaths.

Was it Smaug that had taking him again? Bilbo was getting sick and tired of this. He did not sign up for this.

But right now, it didn’t matter what he had signed up for. Bilbo needed to get out of that room and get of the damn boat.

XoXoX

Ori had thrown a fit that would have made his older brother, Dori, proud. He had been so angry when Dwalin had told him to stay in the club, but it was necessary, and he was safe there. Smaug would never be stupid enough to do something to the club and he probably had every single man that worked for him guarding the boat.

Balin was staying with Ori. Dain had volunteered, but it was quickly rejected by Thorin when Dwalin had thrown him a certain look. Of course, even I this situation, Dain was still hunting every single person who is in a relationship with of his family members. Bilbo truly was right to call him a pig.

But Dwalin knew that it wasn’t the main reason why they had forced Dain to join them. Thorin didn’t trust that sad excuse of a man, not for a single hair on his head. Dwalin didn’t trust him either. He didn’t understand why Dain would keep that information secret for so long. If he truly wanted to keep his club and himself safe, he would have come sooner to them, right?

Dwalin suspected that that was the true reason why Thorin had forced Dain to come. He wanted to keep an eye on the pig.

Dwalin looked over at Thorin, who looked surprisingly calm, but Dwalin knew better. Thorin was like a brother to him. They had known each other their entire life and had been through so many things, so Dwalin could not be fooled by Thorin’s calm look. That was also why he was driving and not Thorin. He didn’t think Thorin was a bad driver or anything, but with everything going on, he didn’t want to take his chances. It would not surprise him, if he let Thorin drive, there would be multiple accidents and Thorin simply wouldn’t care. He wanted to be with Bilbo as fast as possible and Dwalin didn’t blame him. If it was Ori in Bilbo’s place, he probably wouldn’t even try to look as calm as Thorin did. But they didn’t even know if Bilbo actually was on the boat. It could be a rouse just to trap them and Bilbo could be locked up in some stupid warehouse of Smaug. They were taking a huge risk with going to the boat without proof that Bilbo was there.

Thorin had always been better at hiding his emotions. It was part of his upbringing. Only be affectioned when in personal and private spaces. He also didn’t really have a choice when you have to take over a, basically mafia business, when you are only nineteen and having no idea what you’re doing. Thorin still thanks the gods that he had Balin by his side, otherwise he and his family had nothing left and where would they have ended up?

The car ride was silent. It was only Dwalin and Thorin in the car. Dain was in his own car with his men following. Bifur and Gloin were following Dain’s men just in case they pulled some kind of stunt that would screw them over.

The drive to the harbor felt like it took hours, in reality it was about a 45-minute drive, but Thorin didn’t say anything about it. Afraid that he would burst with anger if he opened his mouth right now and Dwalin didn’t deserve that. There were far bigger things to worry about and Thorin not being able to control his emotions could not be one of the things. The biggest problem was that they could not bring enough back up. Smaug would constantly have an eye on them, so sneaking people in was hardly an option.

Unless…

XoXoX

It had taken Bilbo over an hour to finally get his hands free of the robe. There had been nothing in the room that could be used as a knife or anything sharp, as if everything that he could have possibly used had been removed from the room. So after an hour of wiggling, cramps and crying because the rough rope and the constant friction had broken the skin around his wrist and it hurt like hell, Bilbo had been able to get his hands free from the rope.

_All right,_ Bilbo thought to himself _, now we need to get out of here._

Bilbo scanned the room one last time for anything that could be used as a weapon but didn’t find anything. So, he silently stepped to the door and put his ear on it, trying his best to hear if anyone was standing in front of his door. After a minute of just listening and another two of collecting all the courage he had to just try and open the door, he softly grabbed the doorknob, took a deep breath and…

Without any warning, the door was opened hard and knocked Bilbo to the ground. Normally a fall like that wouldn’t bother Bilbo, but with his headache and body that hurt like hell, it felt like all the air was punched out of his body.

‘Well, well, well, look who woke up.’

Bilbo would recognize the voice in a thousand other voices, and he wasn’t exactly pleased with that thought. He sat up and looked at Smaug, who was just smiling at him. Behind him stood Azog and someone who looked like a younger version of him.

Smaug stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. He kneeled in front of Bilbo and reached out to touch Bilbo’s face. Bilbo was having none of that and slapped Smaug’s hand away as hard as he could. It created a bit of time for Bilbo to crawl back a bit, scanning his direct surrounding desperately for anything that he could use as a weapon. Smaug grabbed Bilbo ankle and pulled him hard over the floor towards him, instantly taking a hold of the younger man’s wrists.

Bilbo cried out in pain and Smaug squeezed them hard, grounding Bilbo to the floor while leaning over him. If Bilbo had wanted to escape before, then now the feeling had multiplied a hundred times. He had to suppress the feeling of throwing up and refused to look at Smaug.

‘Always so much fun to be in your presence, Bilbo.’ Smaug purred, leaning down and whispered in Bilbo’s ear before gliding his tongue over the sensitive body part. Bilbo froze when he felt how Smaug grabbed both of his wrists in one hand and slipped the other one beneath his shirt. He couldn’t stop him, he had no energy left in his body to physically fight Smaug.

He couldn’t stop the tears that were flowing down his face, but he refused to make a single sound. He refused to confirm to Smaug that, what he was doing, could release any kind of reaction. He refused to give Smaug that satisfaction.

It seemed to work. Smaug stopped whatever he was doing and sat upright, still holding Bilbo’s wrists.

‘I fantasized that this would be a lot more difficult and challenging, but it is almost boring to have you this…’ Smaug let his eyes linger on Bilbo’s stomach. The fabric of his shirt had been pushed up and it gave Smaug a clear view of the marks that littered the pale skin. Marks that Thorin had left there during their love making the night before and that morning. It felt so long ago, like an almost forgotten memory that once had held meaning.

‘You let HIM touch you!’ Smaug hissed. Grabbing Bilbo’s face and forcefully turning it to face Smaug. He looked furious. ‘You let him touch you and mark you like that, but you refuse to acknowledge that I am pleasuring you!’

‘This isn’t for my pleasure, you rapist!’ Bilbo yelled, forcing every cell of energy to fight Smaug, to do anything, but it was futile. Smaug released Bilbo’s face, but instead those long fingers wrapped around Bilbo’s neck. He squeezed hard, harder than he had done to Bilbo’s wrists.

‘I am NOT a rapist.’ Smaug hissed angry. Bilbo tried to push, hit, anything to Smaug so he could breath. ‘You have no idea what I already could have done to you, what I could have let other men do to you. I am giving you pleasure, and you are denying me. Is it because you fear what I could make you feel? It will be pleasure! I am not a rapist!’

Bilbo was on his peak of panicking. Smaug was squeezing his neck so hard, he could get no air at all and it hurt so much. It was too much. This was it for Bilbo. This was he limit of things he was able to take. With a probable concussion, blood loss and now being deprived of air. Bilbo felt dizzy and his vision was turning black while he could hear Smaug talking to him, but even that had started to become hazy.

It was over.

Smaug would have his filthy way with Bilbo, breaking him and then what? What would Smaug possibly do with him afterwards? Bilbo truly didn’t want to think about that. Would Thorin tke him back if Smaug had successfully molested him?

But he also never thought that his savoir would be Azog knocking on the door.

‘Sir, he’s here.’

Those words were enough for Smaug to instantly release Bilbo and stand up. Straighten his suit and fixing his hair.

The moment he had let go of Bilbo, the younger man had gasped for air. Letting his lungs flood with air. Just a little bit longer and Bilbo would have fallen unconscious.

His throat felt like it was on fire.

Smaug opened the door. ‘Get him.’ He told Azog.

The extremely pale man grabbed Bilbo’s arm and pulled him onto his feet. Bilbo barely had the strength to stay on his feet. It was only Azog’s firm grasp that kept Bilbo on his feet.

‘Where are you taking me?’ He asked, instantly regretting it. He could barely speak loud enough for Azog to hear him, and that man was standing right next to him. How badly were his vocal cords damaged?

Smaug must have heard him. ‘We’re giving you a new room. A little harder to reach.’ Smaug answered and started walking. Azog instantly followed his boss, pulling Bilbo with him.

Bilbo hardly was able to take in his surroundings and barely registered that they had entered an elevator. It was made out of glass and you were able to have a view the whole court of the ship. Bilbo realized now how big the ship was. He could only compare the court with a very large shopping mall with different levels that had a view of the inner court. That was what it reminded him of as he let his entire body lean against the cool glass. His eyes gliding over the people beneath him. Were they people enjoying a trip? A ship this big must be a cruise ship.

Why would anyone otherwise have a ship this big?

It was just when the elevator came to a halt that Bilbo saw him. He was wearing a dark blue suit and his long hair was in a low ponytail.

Thorin.

Bilbo was pulled out of the elevator, but he started fighting against it. Azog grabbed him, but before he physically dragged Bilbo out of the elevator, he saw what had caught the attention of the younger man.

Durin.

‘You stay quiet.’ Azog warned Bilbo and then laughed, looking at the already forming bruises on his neck. Releasing that, if Bilbo could hardly say anything to him, he would barely be able to scream anything.

But Bilbo’s heart was racing. He had to let Thorin know he was here, that he was at least alive and somewhat well.

‘Let me go.’ Bilbo whispered. ‘Let me go!’ He was barely able to get those words out of his throat.

Azog lifted Bilbo out of the elevator and followed Smaug. Bilbo could still see Thorin over the railing of the level. Bilbo could hear Smaug and Azog laugh about something and the look that Smaug gave him, scared him.

Bilbo had once read a book where it said that fear could push the body to things that the mind no longer thought as possible. Bilbo knew that what he was going to do, would result in punishment. But, while he grabbed together every single particle of energy and bravery he had left, he saw Smaug look at him, licking his lips.

It made Bilbo so disgusted and angry. He was not some plaything for someone to just enjoy whenever they wanted!

It was the adrenaline boost he needed.

‘THOOOORRRIIINNNN!!!!!’

Bilbo only remembered how Azog threw him against the wall away from the railing before everything went black again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt nervous to post this chapter


	21. WRITER'S NOTE

Hey guys!

I know it’s been a while and I’m very sorry for that. A lot has been happening since I posted the last chapter. One of the things that happened was that I couldn’t sleep anymore. My doctor gave me sleeping pills, but I’m not a huge fan of medication. I was so tired and I couldn’t focus on anything. I got behind on my classes. I’m doing a master’s in art photography and my mentor had to leave the school for health reasons, so I had to find a new mentor. Which is a big problem because there was only one mentor with a background in photography. I eventually found someone, but there were a lot of problems and for some reason I was the one running around and calling everyone trying to fix it all.

With all of this happening and everything that is happening in the world, I tried to write the next chapter, but nothing made sense to me. I almost finished it when I posted the last chapter and I just deleted it because I didn’t like it anymore. The next day I regretted it and I’ve been trying to rewrite it, but it’s going slowly and I’m still not sleeping.

So I went back to my doctor and we talked a bit. She said to maybe pause every project I’ve been putting my time in for a while. To clear my mind and slowly start again with my drawing, writing,… That was about six weeks ago and I’ve slowly started writing again. The new chapter is very slowly getting there, but I’ve also started writing other stories.

This story is not on hold. I’m not abandoning it. I want to complete this story!

I really love writing this story and I want to finish it with an ending I’m proud of.

I just thought you guys deserved an explanation about why I haven’t posted a new chapter in a while.

I’m really sorry for the long wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will be deleted when I post the new chapter


	22. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my sweets
> 
> I wanted to thank you all for your patience and support. It really means a lot to me, you have no idea! It also really motivated me to write. My sleep sucks, but when I couldn't sleep in the last few days, I started writing and rewriting and rewriting this chapter and after reading it countless times, I think I'm happy with it. I decided it was time to post it.
> 
> If there are any mistakes, it's my fault. I tried and did my best ;)
> 
> Let me know what you think of it.
> 
> This chapter isn't beta-read

**Chapter 21**

Thorin could have sworn his heart had stopped when he heard Bilbo’s voice scream his name for the entire ship to hear. It made his blood run cold. He had never heard Bilbo scream like that. Other people looked around to see what happened, but soon returned to their own business, probably writing it of as a accident or something like that. Thorin wondered if these people were here on a trip or if they lived here. But hearing Bilbo’s voice had pushed every other thought out of his mind.

He’s here and he’s alive.

That was what mattered the most.

He was so lost in his thoughts for a moment, he hardly noticed Bard walking towards him. Thank the gods for Dwalin.

‘Thorin Durin, the last time I saw you, you still had to grow into your beard.’ Bard smiled as he went in for a huge. Thorin didn’t know for a moment what to do. He normally didn’t hug.

‘Act like you’re happy to see me. We’re being watched. They’re keeping him on the sixth floor.’ Bard whispered into Thorin’s ear. ‘They’re not planning to let you all get of this ship.’

Bard released him and Thorin pretended to be happy to see him, despite of what he had just been told. Bard looked tired. The last time they had properly seen each other must have been when his eldest was born. Thorin barely remembered that time of his life

‘I’m here to bring you to him.’ Bard told them after acknowledging Dwalin, Gloin and Bifur. Dain was behind them, but Bard knew who he was and didn’t even bother. He had never liked Dain. He had once reached out for help when they had docked in Germany and he had gotten the cold shoulder and a severe beating.

They followed Bard. Thorin could not imagine how Bard felt. Having to live on is own ship where his children were being hostages so that Smaug could be safe. Then again, the men he loved was being kept as a hostage and apparently, they were not going home according to Smaug.

‘Have you seen Bilbo?’ Thorin asked softly, making sure this was just a conversation between them.

Bard nodded. ‘I saw him when they brought him in. He was unconscious but looked fine. You heard him scream, so you know he’s alive. I don’t know in what state he is.’

Bard glanced at Thorin. The poor man had to a wreck on the inside.

‘I’m sorry.’ Bard whispered.

Thorin didn’t know what to respond. He knew the man was at his own limits.

‘Is he here?’

Bard led them to a dark room with a poker table. Apparently, Smaug was here to play some games. But that wasn’t a surprise.

‘Yes, he is. Bit of an odd guy, very chatty, but he has good intentions.’ Bard answered. ‘I understand why you would call him a secret weapon. He’ll meet you soon. Either that, or he’ll help us from the shadows.’

Before Thorin took a seat at the table he turned to Bard. ‘Can you help us get Bilbo out of here?’

‘Will you help me get my children out of here?’ Bard countered.

‘I will get your children of this ship. I’ll make sure the ship is yours again and I’ll make sure Smaug will never be able to set a foot on it again.’ Thorin spoke. ‘Do we have a deal?’

Bard looked at Thorin and nodded before leaving.

Dain took a seat next to Thorin. ‘You are doing a lot for that boy.’ He muttered. ‘I don’t understand.’

‘That’s because you never cared about anyone.’ Thorin countered angry. With that, the conversation was finished and Thorin wanted to do nothing more than bash Dain’s head against the table.

Luckily for Dain, Smaug walked into the room with a smirk.

‘Thorin.’ He greeted as he sat down opposite of his rival.

Thorin didn’t say anything.

‘I see you brought…’ Smaug scanned Dain and looked questionable at Thorin. ‘Dain? I must say, Thorin, I keep being surprised with the people you surround yourself with.’

Thorin, again, didn’t say anything. He knew this was one of the ways to annoy Smaug the easiest. Hell, Dis and Frerin did it all the time when they were young and Smaug tried to talk to them when Smaug had been in service of Thorin’s grandfather. It drove him nuts! Thorin quickly learned that Smaug would get annoyed when children did it, but he would get nervous when adults did it.

And that was happening right now.

‘Did you bring the papers?’

‘Yes.’ Thorin threw a file on the table.

‘Well, let’s sign some papers.’ Smaug smiled as he reached for the file, but Thorin pulled it back.

‘Get Bilbo here.’

Smaug didn’t look that pleased at Thorin’s request… well, demand… Smaug knew that Thorin would still probably kill him if he saw the state Bilbo was in. After Azog had thrown him against the will, he had been unconscious ever since.

Thorin would not be happy.

‘Let’s talk a little first and when I’m happy, then I’ll call to let sweet Bilbo be brought to you.’ Smaug sneaked his way around Thorin’s demand, completely unaware that Thorin knew of his plan to not let them get of this ship alive.

‘Alright, let’s talk about how you release Bilbo and Bard’s children if you want to own the full 100% of Erebor.’

This confused Smaug, but Thorin noticed the change in behavior from Dain. This was something he didn’t know.

‘What do you mean?’ Smaug hissed. ‘The FULL 100%?’

‘After your failed little stunt with kidnapping Bilbo the last time, I had to make a deal with someone to ensure Bilbo’s safety in case you tried something again.’ Thorin answered truthfully. He could see the smoke come out of Smaug’s nose. Thorin threw in a nice and long pause… for dramatic purpose and a bit to stall time. ‘He owns 75% of the company.’

Nobody would be surprised if the glass of scotch in Smaug’s hand would crush under the pressure he put on it. Smaug was furious.

‘Now, you won’t find his name or even a single lead to him because he has the second set of papers you’ll need to own Erebor. He’ll come if I let him know you keep your end of the bargain.’ Thorin smiled, knowing he had driven Smaug into a corner. ‘So even if I give you the remaining 25%, you will never completely own Erebor.’

Smaug, without warning, stood from his seat. ‘If you excuse me for a minute.’

He left the room, taking his men with him.

Dain immediately turned to him in panic. ‘What are you doing? Are you out of your mind?’

Thorin didn’t appreciate that.

‘Why does this make you so nervous, Dain?’ Thorin asked, peaking interest with everyone in the room.

‘It… It doesn’t.’ Dain tried and got up. ‘I just don’t think you made a smart move. We are trapped on a large metal floating devise surrounded by people we don’t trust and probably want us dead. I have to get some fresh air, excuse me.’ Dain left the room with his men.

‘He’s in on it.’ Dwalin muttered, saying what Thorin had suspected all this time.

‘He wants a part of the business.’ Thorin answered his friend and got up. ‘We’ll get our conformation from our insider, but now we need to get out of here.’

As if it had been rehearsed, the door opened and revealed Bard, looking like he had just been in a fight.

‘We don’t have much time.’ Dwalin could see the knocked-out guards in the hallway, Bard was helping them. ‘But first you help me get my kids of this boat!’

XoXoX

Bilbo had enough of it. He was sick and tired of it all.

Smaug had locked him up in a new room with Azog guarding the door. Fuck, he hated both of those men so badly.

Bilbo realized, that after he woke up, he needed a plan. There was no way that Smaug would let him go, not when he saw Bilbo as a prize. So he had to escape from this room and find Thorin. That was the only way they would get of the boat.

But, just like the last room, this room had been cleared of anything that he could use to defend himself. He would never be able to take down Azog with his bare hands, so he had to find something else.

Brooding on a plan to get out of the room, Bilbo heard there was some conversation going on outside of the door, which eventually opened. Azog went in first, followed by a shorter man with a tray filled with food. Bilbo had a feeling he knew this man. Like he had seen him before. But not really. He reminded him of someone… but who?

The man placed the tray on the table, making eye contact with Bilbo and.. winked at him.

This confused Bilbo, but maybe he someone he could trust? Bilbo hoped that he could trust the man, because he had no options left.

Bilbo was left to eat alone, but he didn’t care. He didn’t care for the food or the drinks on the tray. He only cared for the silver utensils on the tray.

He had a knife.

XoXoX

It didn’t take long for Bilbo to find a way to make some noise to get Azog into the room. Bilbo simply threw the tray with food and drinks onto the floor, quickly laying down next to the table so it looked like he had passed out.

Bilbo just hoped that Azog had heard the sounds.

He sure did, because the door opened not half a second later than when Bilbo was on the floor.

Azog was cursing and muttering about the stupid boy and how he was left babysitting. He reached Bilbo’s body and knelt down to turn him over. He never saw the knife being plunged into his chest.

Bilbo thought he had enough time to get up and run away, but Azog had already wrapped his hand around Bilbo’s ankle and tripped him onto the ground, pulling him back. Azog yelled and pulled the knife out of his chest as if it had been nothing more than a splinter.

Bilbo cursed harshly and started kicking Azog, hoping to hit him in his face.

It hardly worked.

Bilbo looked around in panic and grabbed the first thing he saw, before being pulled closer by Azog.

If Azog had not seen the knife, then he would definitely not see the fork. Bilbo sat up as quickly as he could before stabbing Azog’s eye with the fork.

This gave Bilbo all the time he needed to get away from Azog, who was screaming out in pain and would definitely attract some attention. Bilbo smacked the door close behind him and turned the key that Azog had left on the door. Locking Azog into the room.

Bilbo had no idea where he was running to or who he could trust.

He just kept running.

XoXoX

It didn’t take long before he found his boss who he had not seen in months. They only had contact through hidden e-mails and burner phones, yet Thorin could feel only relief when he saw his spy.

‘Nori, where is he?’ Thorin asked without hesitation. Bard and few of the crew had helped them get to the fourth floor to get Bard’s children. It had been rough, but at least the children were on their way of the boat.

Nori had been in Thorin’s service for years. Dori had tried his best to raise him as a honest man, but the attempts were futile. Picking pockets had been the only thing he ever knew how to do, that was how he met Thorin. He had stolen his car keys and in return Thorin had offered him a job. They had an agreement that his family would never be involved in his work and that was why he was mostly spying for him. He could be the shadow that knew everything with no identity.

It was only now that Thorin saw Nori again, that he realized that Ori was his little brother. So he would also know Bilbo. Sadly enough, Nori hadn’t seen Dori or Ori for over two years. He’d sent letters and postcards and gifts for birthdays and holidays, but he hadn’t been home in forever. He had met Bilbo only a few times, but really liked the kid. He would be a good friend for Ori

Of course Nori knew of Ori and Dwalin, but that was a story for another time.

‘Sixth floor. He’s being guarded by Azog.’ Nori answered.

‘What about Smaug and Dain?’ Dwalin asked. They had been on thin ice since Nori found out Dwalin was dating his little brother, but honestly, no one even knew he had a little brother or actually a family except for Thorin and he clearly forgot.

‘Working together. Saw them talking on the first floor, neither of them were really happy. Dain would get a percentage of Erebor if he helped Smaug get the documents.’

Thorin took a few deep breaths to calm himself down.

Fucking Dain!

Someone ran up to Bard and whispered something in his ear.

‘Apparently, mister Baggins is no longer on the sixth floor.’ He informed the rest. He hadn’t felt this free since Smaug had taken over his ship. Now he would do everything to make it his again and restore to his former glory. They still had to be careful. His children were safe now, but there were still many other children, elderly and pregnant women on board. They were working on getting them off safely. Smaug was not allowed to find out that the crew was working against him until it was too late.

‘Some of the crew just heard a lot of noise coming from the room mister Baggins was kept in. They were fighting, but mister Baggins got away.’ Bard swallowed and looked at Thorin. ‘We no longer know where Bilbo is.’

XoXoX

Bilbo had been running around for what felt like hours. He didn’t know where to hide or who to trust so he avoided everyone he encountered.

It was his only option, although he kind of regretted it, since this fucking ship was a maze made out of hallways, doors, stairs, .... But Bilbo had never been more grateful for the cold November air to fall on his skin as he pushed yet another door open.

He was on the deck.

Bilbo locked the door behind him and leaned against it. Calming down, but it only made him feel worst. He was so tired and everything hurt, but he knew he couldn’t give up until he found Thorin.

Bilbo wondered to himself: _was this all worth it?_

He couldn’t give it a second thought as he heard footsteps approach him. He ran away again, but he should have expected someone to stand behind the corner he was running to.

Smaug.

And he looked fucking pissed.

Before Bilbo could run away, Smaug grabbed his golden curls and pulled him close so close that Bilbo could almost touch Smaug’s face with his nose.

‘Let me go!’ Bilbo yelled.

‘I am so fucking tired of you!’ he hissed, looking absolutely crazy. ‘It was fun for a while, but now that I know I will never have Erebor, you are useless to me.’ He started yelling. ‘At first I just wanted to take away the thing Thorin Durin cared the most for. Erebor! But I’m not getting that, so you’ll have to do!’ he pulled Bilbo, who was stribling as hard as he could, further onto the deck near the railing

‘If I can’t have you, then Thorin Fucking During can’t have you either!’

Smaug wanted to throw Bilbo over the railing, into the freezing ocean where he would drown or die from hypothermia, shock, exhaustion. Take your pick. But Bilbo clinged to Smaug as if he was life raft. But he was so tired. He was ready to give up. He had been running, screaming, fighting for so long now.

This enraged Smaug to madness as he screamed it out in frustration.

He wrapped his long finger around Bilbo’s neck on last time and squeezed the life out of the smaller man, lifting him up from the floor. Bilbo tried to fight, but he had already fought so much.

At least he wouldn’t die in some small room surrounded by food he had thrown on the floor. He would die with a view on the moon and stars, with the salty air unable to reach his lungs.

He only regretted never telling Thorin he…

Bilbo fell onto the floor, gasping for breath.

What was happening? Why had Smaug released him?

He looked up and saw Smaug staring at him, before turning around and taking a few steps. He fell onto his knees and it was then that Bilbo saw the blood staining his back. He didn’t have much time to take it in before Smaug was shot two more times.

Bilbo tried to make himself as small as possible, but he truly felt repulsive when Smaug used all the strength he had to turn around and smile at Bilbo. Blood running down his chin and staining his lips and teeth.

‘Mine.’ He muttered before collapsing on the floor completely.

Smaug was dead.

It was over.

Right?

XoXoX

Thorin was rushing towards the deck. It had taken them much longer than he had ever wanted. Hell, he didn’t want any of this to happen, but right know all he wanted was to go to Bilbo.

When they found out where Smaug was hiding, they had been to far away to get to the deck, so Bard went to a good spot to take a shot at him and he did it, in one try he was able to take the bastard down. It was Thorin who had shot him two more times when he reached the deck… just to be sure.

He had enough of that man.

Bard was making sure every single person on the ship who was loyal to Smaug was thrown into the ocean. The crew made sure of that. Dain had run off like the coward he was, but they would eventually get to him. A pig like that will only be slaughtered even harder when eventually found.

Thorin was only about 15meters from Bilbo, before he got tackled from behind. He had been so preoccupied with getting Bilbo finally safe that he hadn’t checked his surroundings properly. It was a rookie mistake.

Thorin had just enough time to see it was fucking Azog! His pale face was covered in blood and one of his eyes looked really fucked up. Thorin barely had the time to block Azogs hits, but it took him a few hits to his ribs before he was able to roll Azog off of him and get onto his feet. He quickly looked around for his gun, but it was very out of reach. Azog charged at him

Thorins gun was out of his reach.

Th fight was brutal. Every hit was fueled by frustration, anger, hate.

But there was a problem… Thorin was losing…

Somehow Azog had gotten behind Thorin with his arms wrapped around his neck and arms, suffocating Thorin. But he needed… he needed to get out of Azog’s hold. He needed together Bilbo and get out of here. Take a shower and hold him close in bed, never letting the smaller man out of his sight.

But right now, the smaller man was right in his sight. Standing, shaking, with Thorin’s gun pointing to him, aiming for Azog. He must have taking the gun from the floor during the fight. But it was difficult. Azog kept moving and if Bilbo would shoot, he would hit Thorin.

‘Bilbo!’ Thorin yelled, realizing that this was the only way. Azog was stronger than him, he couldn’t win. ‘Do it!’

Bilbo was shaking so badly. He was crying so hard, he could barely aim properly.

He shook his head.

Thorin had the greatest struggle of keeping Azog were he was. If Bilbo shot him in the right place, the bullet might go trough him into Azog. But he wasn’t sure and the chance of him getting out of this alive were slim. But right now, it was the only thing he could think of.

At least Bilbo would live.

‘Bilbo!’ he was losing air. He wouldn’t last much longer and then Azog would take out the rest of his anger on Bilbo. He would kill him.

‘BILBO!’

Two shots followed fast after each other.

The pain… Thorin had been shot more times in his life than he wanted and he would never get used to how it felt to be shot. Thorin wondered if it hurt more than the other times because this time, he was shot by the person he loved most in this damned world.

Thorin could feel the fresh and cool sea air enter his longs. Azog stepped away from Thorin. Blood was dripping from his wounds.

It had worked.

Thorin fell onto his knees, but Azog kept walking backwards. Completely in shock because of what had just happened. His pale skin was ever paler than before.

It scared Bilbo so much, he kept his eyes on the man. He still didn’t trust him, even with two bullets in his body.

Azog tripped, falling back over the railing into the freezing water.

‘Bilbo.’ Thorin whispered. It pulled Bilbo from the trance he was in. he dropped the gun in disgust and ran towards Thorin.

There was so much blood.

Thorin completely fell to the floor before Bilbo reached him. The younger man fell onto his knees, crying, applying pressure to the wounds.

‘I’m sorry! Thorin, I’m so sorry! I didn’t…. I…I’m sorry! Thorin! Please, don’t close your eyes! I need you to stay awake! Thorin, please!’

Thorin could hear other voices. He recognized the voices. Dwalin was one of them.

‘It’s okay… Bilbo…’ Thorin smiled to Bilbo and lifted his hand to touch Bilbo’s cheek. His skin was so soft and warm and damp with tears and blood. His blood. Thorin’s blood.

‘Bilbo, I’m sorry.’ Thorin coughed, blood was now staining his lips red. ‘All… of this… I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I should… have been more… careful.’

‘Thorin, please, I need you to save your strength. You’ll be fine. You’ll get through this. We’ll be fine!’ Fat tears were falling down his cheeks. He couldn’t lose him. Not after everything!

‘You…are so… good. You helped… me… when no one would.’ More coughing, more blood, more tears. ‘You are the… light… in my…darkness.’

‘Thorin, please.’ Bilbo begged him. The blood was seeping through his fingers, he could feel him losing this battle. But Thorin smiled at him and tried to take a deep breath. His sight started getting dark around the edges.

‘Smile for …. me, love.’ Thorin whispered, he was trying not to cough. He didn’t want to scare Bilbo, but he was losing…

Bilbo forced a smile between his tears

‘Farewell… my love.’

Bilbo begged Thorin to hold on. He didn’t have the right to leave him! He couldn’t! They just found each other again. Thorin couldn’t leave! He wasn’t allowed, not when Bilbo loved him so much.

Thorin smiled lovingly.

And then….

It went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to watch Thorin's death scene for the end. Broke my heart.  
> I cried. Just thinking about it again makes me tear up again. 
> 
> Just one more chapter to go and guess what
> 
> I've already written it


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My sweets!
> 
> This is the last chapter. It's so weird knowing that this is the end of it. 
> 
> I hope you all like it. I did my best to give this story a worthy end, but do let me know what you think of it ;)
> 
> Thanks to every one who gave this story kudo's and comments. They really made my day and kept me motivated to continue writing. I'm really grateful for all of you. 
> 
> This chapter isn't beta-read, so all mistakes are mine.

**Chapter 22**

Everything hurt.

Every bone, every muscle, every inch of his body.

It all hurt so badly.

As if he had been crushed under a pile of boulders.

Fuck, breathing hurt. It felt like his lungs were on fire and for a split second he started to panic, but forced himself to relax. There was some annoying sound in the background. Despite it working his nerves, he focused on the sound. Forcing his breathing to slow down. To take back control, to save his strength. He needed to be strong.

How long has he been out?

He felt weak and tired. As if he had been sleeping for far too long and it made it difficult to move his limbs. Slowly opening his eyes, the lights if the room blinded him. He groaned and soon, people were next to him, talking, asking him questions. But he could only hear them as if he was under water. He tried to focus, but it was so difficult. It all hurt so much. What is that beeping in the background? It annoyed the hell out of him. It was overwhelming. The voices, the light, the breathing.

It took everything he had left to not pass out.

It took a while, but eventually he was able to get his breathing under control, it still hurt, but the pain would fade eventually. He let his eyes adjust to the light in the room. The beeping originated from the machines that checked his vitals.

A hospital?

He hated hospitals.

Nothing good ever happened there.

Finally, being able to adjust to everything, he looked around. Dwalin was standing near the door, while Balin sat next to his bed. Oin was standing at his bed end with a clipboard. He looked pleased. At least one of them did. Dwalin didn’t look at him and Balin looked so… so utterly sad. The older man gave him a sad small.

But there was one person missing. Someone he really needed near him.

His throat hurt. It felt like he hadn’t had a sip of water in weeks and it made his throat close up, making it difficult to talk.

‘Where… where’s Bilbo?’

XoXoX

It took Thorin two more weeks to be able to go home. In those two weeks he hadn’t heard a word from Bilbo. He hadn’t seen him since… he shot him on the boat.

Dwalin had told him how they had brought Thorin and Bilbo to the hospital. Thranduil had showed up just in time and took down every single man who ever worked for Smaug. They also caught Dain. Thranduil had never liked the pig, so he had offered to take care of him. He wasn’t dead, but no one would hear from his anytime soon. After that, Balin had given Thranduil the gems he had wanted for so long and so badly in exchange for the sixty-five percent of the company. It had been the reason why the Greenwoods and the Durins didn’t get along. Long ago, the Durin’s got into possession of these precious and rare gems that shone like a million stars. Thranduils family claimed it had been stolen from their land. Now, Thranduil had them back and kept ten percent of Erebor, but Thorin would own the majority of his company again. Thranduil had given Balin the paperwork, his signature had been placed wherever needed, but that had been weeks ago and Thorin still hadn’t signed it. He didn’t care…

Bilbo had been exhausted, dehydrated and covered in bruises. He had a concussion, three broken ribs and a fractured wrist. Except from the trauma he experienced, he was okay. He had stayed by Thorin’s side until the doctors told him that Thorin was going to survive. They were keeping him in a coma so his body could heal. It could be a while, but he would heal over time and be his old self in just a matter of time.

The entire time Bilbo had been by his side, he hadn’t said a word. He ate the hospital food, he took his meds, he stayed by Thorin’s side despite Dwalin telling him to go home and get some sleep. And then one morning, Dwalin came to visit Thorin and Bilbo was gone.

He hadn’t returned since and nobody had heard or seen him. Even Ori didn’t know where he was. He didn’t go back to the bookstore or to the clinic or school. For a moment, Dwalin had panicked that Bilbo had been taken again. That they had missed a blind spot in their security. Thorin wouldn’t survive that.

Dwalin had gone to Thorin’s flat in the hope that Bilbo was there, but he wasn’t. His clothes, his books, it was all gone except for the things Thorin had ever bought him. He had all left that behind on the kitchen table. Someone who was taken wouldn’t do something like that. So there was only one possible answer.

Bilbo had left.

The doctors had told them to keep Thorin away from stress or it could put a strain of his health as the bullet wounds were still healing. But Thorin kept pressuring them to tell him where Bilbo was. It wasn’t until Thorin finally had the strength to walk again, that Dwalin had deemed it okay to tell Thorin that Bilbo had left and that they didn’t know where he was.

Dwalin couldn’t remember the last time he had seen his friend so defeated.

Thorin didn’t ask for anything. He didn’t ask them to go and search for Bilbo. He never asked Ori if he knew where Bilbo was or if he was okay. He just didn’t ask.

Bilbo had left him.

And after everything that had happened, everything Bilbo had been through, he needed to respect that. He had no say in this. Bilbo didn’t want to be with him anymore. He had made that clear.

It was over.

XoXoX

Bilbo hadn’t left the bed in weeks. He didn’t have the energy for it. He hardly had the energy to lift his arms. Legolas brought him food and drinks, books, kept him company when he could. He had called the school and told them Bilbo would miss classes because of family circumstances.

He had done everything he could since Bilbo had showed up at his door unannounced with his bags and tears in his eyes. Legolas didn’t hesitate and let his friend stay at his flat for as long as he needed. Because of Bilbo’s injuries, he had offered his bed to him. Legolas has slept on his sofa since. But Bilbo didn’t say a word. Only Legolas talked when he felt Bilbo was up for it.

Weeks passed.

Bilbo slowly healed, physically and mentally, but he didn’t leave the flat and he didn’t talk to anyone except for Legolas. He took his classes online, finished his papers and thesis. The first time he left the flat was to go to the market at the corner of Legolas’ street. The second time he left the flat to go for a short walk and some fresh winter air. Slowly he went back to the university and to physically turn in his work. Then he went back to the clinic. But he didn’t go back to the bookstore 

Despite everything that had happened, Bilbo did graduate that winter, and he would get to receive his diploma at the end of the year with the rest of the class. He was officially a veterinarian and got a full-time job at Beorn’s clinic.

Bilbo loved it.

Life became somewhat normal again.

He even went to meet Ori for a cup of tea. They’ve hadn’t seen each other for five months and Ori was crying the moment he saw Bilbo. It was hard and Ori was mad, but he understood. He was still together with Dwalin. The older man even wanted to come and talk to Bilbo about Thorin, but Ori had refused. They had a big fight about it, but ultimately Dwalin accepted Ori’s demands to go alone.

Ori eventually did try to tell him about Thorin. How he was doing better, trying to turn the business completely legit, but that it was a slow process. He was still sad, but he was working. Trying to take back his life. Going to the clubs, the casino, the usual things he normally did.

‘It’s really the only thing he’s doing.’ Ori whispered. ‘He’s drowning himself in work.’

Bilbo cried when he was back in Legolas’s flat. There wasn’t a day he didn’t think of Thorin. How much he missed him, how much he still loved the man, how much it had hurt to pull the trigger and how shocked he was when the gun went off a second time. He had shot Thorin two times and he still dreamed about it. He dreamed about Smaug’s hands around his neck, about Azog staring at him with those dead eyes, about Thorin dying in his arms and he couldn’t do anything about it. Bilbo couldn’t count the nights anymore where he had woken up screaming in cold sweats and tears running down his face. The nightmares had gone from every night to one every two or three weeks.

He had left for a reason, but he missed Thorin so much. There were no words in his vocabulary that could describe how badly he wanted to be by Thorin’s side, but he left. He left because he felt like he no longer had the strength to continue. The pain he felt in his chest when he shot Thorin and then sat next to his bed, waiting for him to get better… Bilbo knew he wouldn’t be able to survive if he ever felt that pain again.

The biggest problem was that, since he had left, the pain in his chest hadn’t faded.

XoXoX

The sun was warm, too warm. It made the long, black robe stick to his skin with sweat. It was as if the robe absorbed even more heath and kept it there like it was a prison. The extra layers of his normal clothes didn’t help. Bilbo regretted his clothing choices. They had predicted it would rain that day, yet it did not look like that was going to happen, but Bilbo had dressed anticipating rain. Bilbo already wanted nothing else to just receive the piece of paper, go home, take a shower and hide from the heat. He had found and moved into his own flat. It was nice, small and homey filled with books. He loved it. After all, he couldn’t continue to live with Legolas. He had been grateful, but it was a flat with one bedroom and Legolas couldn’t sleep on the sofa forever.

Sadly, the ceremony would last way too long.

‘How much longer is this going to take?’ Ori complained from next to Bilbo. He was wearing the same robe, but was waving the graduation leaflet back and forth, trying to create some cool air. Bilbo tried to catch some of the cool air, since he had already lost his own leaflet. Well, Legolas had lost his and Bilbo had given him his leaflet.

Bilbo had been nervous to go to the ceremony with Ori. Knowing that Dwalin would also be there. But Ori had assured him Dwalin wouldn’t talk about a certain person. He did feel a bit better knowing that Dwalin would have to sit next to Dori the entire ceremony in this heat. Poor man.

It had been nine months since everything happened and Bilbo was doing well. His own flat, a full-time job, good friends. Legolas had tried to set him up with a friend a few weeks ago, but Bilbo didn’t enjoy it. The guy was decent and nice, but he wasn’t Thorin. No one could ever be like Thorin. It was still a sore point for Bilbo. He tried to deny it, but he knew he still had feelings for Thorin. How could he not? Despite everything that had happened, Thorin was one in a million.

Bilbo wondered for a moment if Thorin was here, at the graduation ceremony, but he knew that was very unlikely. There was no reason for Thorin do be here so why would he even bother spending his time thinking about that.

Thorin probably already had a new string of lovers, maybe a boyfriend? How long would it take for Thorin to move on?

‘Bilbo.’ Ori nudged his shoulder, pulling his out of his thoughts. ‘Bilbo.’

‘Yeah.’

‘It’s time for the walk.’ Ori motioned to the stage. People had already started with lining up alphabetically and Bilbo was clearly already late. He quickly got up and squeezed himself into the right place.

It was all over before Bilbo truly realized it. He got on stage, got his diploma, shook someone’s hand and that was it. He was talking to so many people, so many friends and student. They were talking about their plans, some of them staying, some of them leaving and going to live and work somewhere else. Bilbo was talking and saying goodbye to a lot of people he barely knew or only knew from group projects or from class.

At least by now, clouds had started to form in the sky, providing a little bit of moving shadows here and there. Bilbo actually hoped it would rain. There had been a drought for the last week and he hoped the rain would be able to bring some cooling air.

‘Hey Bilbo!’ it was Ori who yelled as he approached Bilbo. ‘We’re going for a bite to eat. Want to join?’

Bilbo looked at Dwalin and Ori. It would be fun, but it was still weird with Dwalin. He was so close to Thorin and he still saw him every day. He had been there for Thorin when Bilbo had left… It wasn’t easy for him to be around the person who broke his best friend’s heart.

‘That’s sweet, Ori.’ Bilbo smiled. ‘But I have to go to the clinic tonight. Nightshift.’ It was a lie. He didn’t need to work tonight, but going for dinner with Ori and Dwalin… it reminded him too much of Thorin and the times the other couple had come over for dinner at Thorin’s flat. Bilbo didn’t like to lie, definitely not to Ori. He just didn’t want to explain that he still had feelings for the older man.

But he had made his decision and now he had to live with it. For god’s sake, it had been nine months. When were all these feelings going away? Sometimes it got to much for him and it felt like he stopped being able to breath and only the idea of having those strong arms around him of the person he loved so much made him calm down. Bilbo felt conflicted when he realized his safe place was with someone he had left.

‘Oooh, okay.’ Ori pouted and hugged his friend goodbye, not seeing the lie. Dwalin gave him an awkward wave and wrapped his arm around Ori’s shoulders. Steering him to where his car was parked.

‘Have fun tonight!’

Bilbo watched his friends walk away and made his way to his flat. Passing the parking lot, he noticed a car he only knew too well… along with the man standing next to it, ready to get in and leave.

Thorin.

Bilbo forgot how to breath as he stared at the man standing only fifteen meters from him. He looked good, healthy, a bit tired, but otherwise he looked as handsome as he had always done. His hair was in a messy bun. He’s wearing a casual look, dark blue pants with a brown belt and a white button up. The sleeves were rolled up, revealing his fore arms. Bilbo remembered feeling those arms around him, how safe he had felt. There was a reason that was his safe place.

‘Thorin…’ was all Bilbo could whisper.

Of course, Thorin had already seen him. He had been watching the whole ceremony from afar. He knew he shouldn’t have been there. He was crossing so many boundaries by being here. But he wanted to see Bilbo.

He needed to.

He finally understood how a portion of the drug addicts could relapse. It was like this itch deep beneath his skin and he was unable to scratch it or make it disappear. It drove him mad and there wasn’t enough scotch in the world to make him forget or feel … normal. As if he had never fallen so hard for a student who had the bravery to help him when no one else dared to.

Dwalin had accidently dropped when Ori had his graduation ceremony. Thorin immediately knew Bilbo would be there. He couldn’t help himself, as if he had no control over his actions. So he had stepped into his car and made it just in time to see Bilbo walk up on the stage to receive his diploma. Staying in the shadows of the tribune.

He was so proud and couldn’t help noticing the feeling in his chest. He felt whole and warm, so very unlike how he had felt the last nine months. It had made the pain ago away for a little while. He had lingered a little too long, but he wanted to see Bilbo smile and look happy just a little bit longer.

He understood why Bilbo left and he couldn’t blame him. It was why Frerin had left. Dis had told him she had thought about it many times. Taking her boys and leaving. And now Thorin understood, because for Bilbo, he would do it to.

Love made people do things…

‘What are you doing here, Thorin?’ Bilbo asked. He was uncomfortable, but then again, wouldn’t anyone be in this situation?

Thorin came closer to him, providing more privacy between them in this open space. He didn’t really know what to say. How do you tell somebody who left you nine months ago that you missed them and wanted to see them in a moment you knew they were so proud of?

This had never been his strong suits.

Expressing his emotions.

He hesitated. He had tried to respect Bilbo’s choice, but he couldn’t take it anymore. The hesitation hit Bilbo the wrong way.

‘You know what?’ Bilbo asked irritated. ‘Forget this! This is why I left.’ he walked past Thorin angry, ripping open his robe. The heat was getting way too high, it started suffocating him. He already could feel tears forming in his eyes and he tried to swallow them away. He didn’t want anyone to see him cry, not today.

‘Bilbo.’ Thorin ran after him and grabbed his arm. Bilbo pulled away from Thorin and looked at him.

‘You can’t just barge into my life, Thorin!’ he was so angry. He could feel every bit of pain return to his heart. Remembering the feeling of pulling the trigger. He couldn’t get that imagine out of his head. Thorin falling to his knees, blood coloring his shirt red. ‘You did that once and look what happened!’

‘I never meant for anything like that to happen!’ it felt like he was losing Bilbo all over again. Why had he come here?

‘But it did, Thorin! It did and I remember everything! Every time Smaug took me, every time someone touched me and you promised it wouldn’t happen again and it did! It fucking did!’ he was crying now. Luckily not a lot of cars had been parked here, but there were people staring as they were leaving.

Thorin didn’t know what to say. It was true. He had promised to keep Bilbo save and he had failed. He never was able to give Bilbo the attention he needed to keep him save. He really shouldn’t have come here.

‘Thorin! Why are you here?’

‘Because I’m selfish!’ Thorin snapped. ‘I needed to see you and I knew you would be here today! I haven’t been able to get through a single day without thinking about you and it is driving me mad! I can’t…’ it was difficult for Thorin. This was the first time about this to anyone, but it felt good to get it of his chest. Just not to burden Bilbo with it. ‘I can’t concentrate because I constantly find myself thinking about you. How badly I want to be with you again.’

Bilbo let out a ragged breath and dragged his hand over his face, wiping away his tears. ‘You don’t get to come here and tell me you miss me. I left because of one of the things you didn’t do was talk to me. How much could have been avoided if you had just told me anything?’

‘I didn’t want you to get involved…’

‘You involved me the moment you didn’t leave me alone after I stitched you up!’ Bilbo screamed. ‘But you never told me anything! You just expected me to be fine with that!’

‘I didn’t expect anything of you.’ Thorin was getting desperate. He truly regretted coming here. ‘I didn’t know if you could handle it. After everything that happened, I didn’t want to burden you even more.’

‘You don’t get to decide that, Thorin! You don’t have the right to just walk back into my life thinking it would be okay to watch from the shadows.’ Bilbo noticed more people staring at them. He wanted this to be over. If was ripping open so many old wounds he thought had healed. Bilbo looked at Thorin, really looked at him. This was a side of Thorin he hadn’t met before. Emotional and confused, afraid of saying the wrong thing. He had always seen a confident and headstrong Thorin who had a softer side in private, but he never was this… insecure and lost Thorin.

‘Did you love me?’

Thorin was startled by the question. He hadn’t expected Bilbo would ask him that of all the questions he could ask.

‘I… still do.’

Bilbo took a deep breath. ‘Then tell me.’

‘What?’

‘Tell me.’

Thorin opened is mouth to say …. Something. Anything! But he hesitated, he took too long. And he closed his mouth.

Bilbo shook his head and laughed. ‘What could I expect? He said mockingly and started to walk away from Thorin. ‘Leave me alone!’

‘Bilbo…’

But Bilbo didn’t want to hear him anymore.

It hurt so much.

XoXoX

Just like they had predicted.

It had been raining cats and dogs for hours and it didn’t look like it was going to stop any time soon. Bilbo didn’t mind. It was a good excuse to get food delivered to his door even if he wasn’t that hungry and just cuddle up on his sofa with his books and food and go to bed early. Forget that this whole day ever happened and just … what?

Forget everything that ever happened

How would he do that?

Leave the city? Start somewhere else all over? Bilbo had already done that once and he truly didn’t want to do that again. He also really didn’t want to go back to Hobbiton. There was nothing there except sheep and gossips. Hell, the library was smaller than Bilbo’s bathroom. The only thing he had ever loved there were the hills and smell of fresh grass, but that was it! He loved the city and he had friends here who were family to him. He didn’t want to start from zero again with nobody to lean on.

Bilbo sighed.

He couldn’t believe his life had gotten so messy.

The doorbell ringed. That meant food! Also something Hobbiton didn’t have: good restaurants and food delivery. And if they had it now, it would be cold by the time it would arrive and the neighbors would gossip about how you wouldn’t be able to take care of yourself or that you were lazy.

Bilbo always wondered why his mother agreed with his father to move there. They never fit in.

The doorbell ringed again impatiently.

‘Yes, I’m coming!’ Bilbo yelled at the door as he grabbed his wallet.

But the moment he opened the door, he wanted to close it again.

‘You can’t be serious, Thorin? Do you not understand what ‘leave me alone’ means?’

‘You tell me I have no right to come back into your life,’ Thorin is angry, his voice booming, strong and secure. ‘But you left! You left without a word! Before I woke up. I deserve more than that!’

‘Do I really need to spell it out for you?’ Bilbo bit back.

There were only two flats on every floor. Bilbo’s neighbor was an elderly woman who was nosy. Bilbo could see she had already opened her door to snoop around and later discuss it all with her friends over a game of bridge. Bilbo knew that his next move wasn’t his best, but he didn’t like an audience in these situations. He had enough of that today at the parking lot. Bilbo opened his door more and walked back to the living room, leaving Thorin at the door. The older man followed him without missing a heartbeat and closed the door loudly.

Bilbo turned to Thorin, but Thorin was faster. ‘You broke my heart! I woke up and you weren’t there after you shot me two times!’

‘You told me to do it! For fuck’s sake, you think I wanted to do that? After everything that happened that day, you think that is how I wanted it to end. By putting two bullets through your body and watching you die in my arms?’

‘I told you to shoot me because it was the only thing that would stop Azog. I knew it would be hard for you, but it was the only thing I could do to keep you safe. But I lived! I lived because you shot me in the right places and you stayed by my side long enough for the doctors to tell that and you ran without thinking about anyone else!’

They were yelling at each other by now.

‘Don’t you dare tell me I didn’t think about others! I sat next to your bed for nine days! Scared to death that you would die again!’ he tried not to cry again. ‘I stayed with you for nearly a year because I love you despite being constantly kidnapped or threatened or drugged. Don’t you dare tell me I never thought about others! You told me you would keep me safe and you didn’t! So look into your own book, before you start to preach about my mistakes!’

‘I made mistakes, but everything I did was for you! I gave Thranduil more than half the ownership of my company so I could take you home! Otherwise he would have given you to Smaug without a second thought. I gave away everything I worked my entire life for because I lo…’

Thorin stopped. He was losing control.

‘Finish that sentence, Thorin!’ Bilbo said it so calm, it would scare anyone. But on the inside he was all over the place. Thorin had given up his company to Thranduil? When did that happen? Why? But it wasn’t relevant now. Bilbo needed Thorin to say something else. ‘I dare you!’

Thorin didn’t say anything.

Bilbo scoffed. ‘So you can come to my graduation, my house, tell me I made mistakes, but you cannot tell me you love me. Do you realize how fucked up that is?’

It reminded Bilbo of that diner he had with Thorin and Dain. How Dain had taunted him. Bilbo had never thought he would have to hear Thorin say those words, but with everything that had happened. Bilbo needed it.

‘You don’t think I know that?’ Thorin yelled. ‘You have no idea how much I care about you, but I was raised and forced to believe that saying those words were a sign of weakness. It was only proven when Frerin lost his girl, he also lost himself. Dis lost her husband and it put her in so deep of a depression she couldn’t take care of her children. Both of them openly expressed their love for the other.’ Thorin took a deep breath and whispered. ‘So yes, I’m scared of what will happen if I tell you.’

Bilbo didn’t know what to say. Thorin had never been this open over his emotions in their time together and it broke his heart. He knew about Frerin, but had no idea of what happened to Dis when her husband had died. That combined with his upbringing, it made sense to Bilbo that he would be afraid.

‘But that doesn’t mean I don’t feel that way about you.’ Thorin hesitated and took a shaky breath. ‘And I would show you, every day, how much I care about you… if you could give me a chance.’ He slowly walked closer to Bilbo, he couldn’t bear to be this far from him. He needed to be closer.

‘That’s not enough, Thorin!’ Bilbo whispered as he looked up. ‘I’ve already given you so many chances.’ Thorin was now standing close enough for him to breath in that familiar smell. It was intoxicating and it was distracting him. But sweet hell, he wanted to just take one step forward and press his face into Thorin’s chest and breath. Forget about everything bad that had ever happened and be happy again. Instead, he took a step backwards, distancing himself from Thorin.

‘Fine!’ Thorin was losing his patience, but he tried to stay calm. Bilbo had already taken a step back, he didn’t want to do anything to add more distance between the two of them. It made his heard bleed even more. ‘I love…’

‘You can’t say that now!’ Bilbo yelled, interrupting Thorin who was now just getting confused.

‘I don’t understand you anymore! You want me to tell you I love you and when I want to say it, you don’t let me finish my sentence!’ Thorin was so frustrated, he raised his voice.

‘Because now you would only say it because you think it will get me back.’ Bilbo was crying by now. Old wounds were being ripped open again and it was getting hard to find the air he needed.

‘Thorin, I don’t…’ his voice cracked.

‘I would give up everything. Everything if it meant I could have you back in my life. I would leave the company and find a job as an accountant and we could live here or wherever you want.’ Thorin was now standing right in front of Bilbo again, who was now letting the tears fall freely. Thorin slowly moved his hand to Bilbo’s. He didn’t want to scare him away, but it felt like the right thing to do. ‘You don’t understand what you do to me, Bilbo! It’s like I’m some teenager stuck in love for the first time. I can’t stop thinking about you when you aren’t around and when you are, I can hardly concentrate long enough to get work done. You make me a better person than I ever was before. You make me want to be a better person because if that means I could be with you, I would do it in a heartbeat!

They didn’t say anything for a while. They just stood there and looked at each other.

‘An accountant?’ Bilbo eventually asked, giving Thorin a small smile.

Thorin smiled back. ‘It was the most normal job I could think of.’

‘You mean the most boring.’

Thorin laughed and nodded.

Being so close to him, Bilbo could felt that warm feeling in his chest take over the pain of the open wounds. It was the same feeling he had when he fell in love with Thorin. It felt safe and right. As if this is exactly where he should be.

‘I don’t want an accountant.’ Bilbo whispered. He was close enough to just stand on his toes and kiss the older man in front of him. ‘I just wanted you.’

Thorin let his forehead fall against Bilbo’s. It was the most physical contact he had in months and he wanted nothing more than just pull Bilbo against his chest and hold him. By now, they were sharing the same breath. The air around them was warm and thick, it only enhanced the tension between the two.

‘You can have everything.’ He whispered back. ‘I’m yours.’

Bilbo felt as if he was drowning.

‘There is no weakness is telling someone you love them.’

‘You express your emotions so easily.’ Thorin envied that about Bilbo. It made him wish his parents had showed him the same kindness. But he had seen Dis with her children and how much love she showered them in. They were capable of love, Thorin just didn’t know how. ‘Can you… teach me?’

Bilbo looked up at Thorin with tears in his eyes.

He had missed the man in front of him so much. Despite everything happening, every time he was taken, every time he had been hurt, every time something had happened, he still loved Thorin so much. It sometimes felt like his throat would close up so he couldn’t breathe, as if his heart just stopped beating or burst in his chest. He wondered if this was the feeling his mother was describing when he had asked her, as a little boy, to explain love.

Bilbo couldn’t take his eyes away from those blue orbs. They said so much, so much more than Thorin could say in words.

It was like drowning in an ocean of emotions that Thorin couldn’t express.

It was intoxicating.

Without giving himself the time to overthink everything, Bilbo closed the space between them. He could feel Thorin’s arms wrapping around his waist without hesitation and pulling him impossibly close. As if he was afraid that any space left between them was too much space.

It felt so right.

Like coming home.

Bilbo broke the kiss. ‘I want you! I want the man who I stitched up. I don’t want a boring accountant!’

Thorin looked shocked. ‘I can’t promise nothing like Smaug will ever happen again.’

‘But you’ll talk to me? You’ll tell me everything that is happening? You won’t shut me out!’ It wasn’t even a question anymore.

‘I’ll do everything to keep you safe and happy! I’ll tell you everything! I’ll answer every question. You can have everything as long as it means you’ll be with me.’

Bilbo smiled and kissed Thorin again.

‘That’s good enough for now.’

They didn’t talk much after that. They didn’t hear the bell ringing impatiently as the food delivery guy was cursing outside. No one opened the door or accepted the food.

There was a mess of clothes shattered over the floor, but they didn’t care. The flat was filled with loving words and pleasurable moans as Thorin kissed every inch of Bilbo’s body. Thorin took his time, savoring every sound, every touch, refusing to let this moment pass quickly. If it was up to him, he would make this last all night.

Eventually, they laid there on the bed. Legs entangled, panting, sheets scattered around their legs and feet. Bilbo traced his fingers over the many scars on Thorin’s chest. He had accidently touched one of the newer bullet scars, immediately pulling his hand back, but Thorin had whispered to him that it didn’t hurt anymore. Instead, Bilbo focused on Thorin’s heartbeat. Bilbo loved feeling those big and warm hands rubbing comforting circles on his skin. 

They were quiet.

Simply enjoyed each others presence. Letting the sounds from the street fill the room.

From his spot next to Thorin, Bilbo could look through the window.

It was raining.

Just like the night they met.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrecked my mind over the ending. I didn't know if I wanted a good ending, a sad ending. I think I rewrote the ending about five or six times. But I think this is a good ending for them.   
> They deserve it.


End file.
